Arca No', In Tres Libros Digesta by Kircher Athanasius - 1675

Amsterdam: Johannes Janssonius van Waesberge, 1675. First Edition. Hardcover (Full Leather). Good Condition. Coenraet Decker et al. Contemporary calf worn, inner joint weak, scattered foxing, a few minor marginal notes and marks in an early hand, including a few sketches of the animals. One double page plate detached, a few with creases and other minor wear, large plate of the arc with repairs and strengthening to verso and creasing and a few small tears and loss to plate face, chipping to the page edges on a few signatures that are slightly loose and a bit of wear and a few repairs in the gutters, occasional minor worming, stain to a table making some text difficult to read, e few tears in the lower margin, some touching text but with no loss. Mostly clean and unmarked internally; a good copy overall. With engraved title and 18 plates, many double page and folding. Lacking the portrait of King Carlos and a folding map titled Post-Diluvian World. [14], 240, [14]. [2]pp. Graesse IV, 20, Ferguson I, 369 Though rooted in his orthodox view of the bible and his Jesuit faith, Kircher's work on the arc has many of his characteristic flourishes. He determines the size and shape of the arc, including the size of a cubit, and lays out the animal species aboard. Most animals were, conveniently, hybrids - e.g. giraffes were a hybrid of a camel and a leopard, leopards a lion and a panther - and lower animals would be reintroduced through spontaneous generation (a subject that was the cause of an extended argument between Kircher and Redi). The cross section of the arc is the largest plate in any of Kircher's many works. Size: Folio. Illustrator: Coenraet Decker et al. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: 2-3 kilos. Category: Religion & Theology; Antiquarian & Rare. Inventory No: 045652.