Kircher, Athanasius | Second, enlarged edition of Kircher's treatise on optics, including early descriptions and illustrations of the camera obscura and magic lantern

Kircher, Athanasius

Ars magna lucis et umbrae. Amsterdam: Joannes Jansson a Waesberge, and the heirs of E. Weyerstraet, 1671

Folio (368 x 244 mm). Engraved title-page, engraved and woodcut text illustrations, triple folding engraved plate “Horoscopium Catholicum Societ. Jesu”; engraved title and letterpress title-page detached but present, foxed, a few small tears, some browning, dampstaining on bottom edges of last few leaves, triple folding engraved plate torn across middle and with old tape reinforcement on verso, mispagination omitting page numbers 425-524. Old red morocco, gilt; modern rebacking, rubbed, both covers detached but present.

Second, enlarged edition of Kircher's treatise on optics, including early descriptions and illustrations of the camera obscura and magic lantern. Includes sections on light, shadow, color, refraction, projection, distortion and luminescence. Expansive in scope, it ranges from the mechanics of vision and the behavior of light to sundials, projection devices, catoptrics, and early experiments that anticipate the magic lantern. Lavishly illustrated, the book blends Kircher’s characteristic forays into scientific inquiry, speculative theory, and theatrical imagination.

REFERENCES

Caillet 5770; Wellcome III p. 394

PROVENANCE

Tho[ma]s Ferrer (early signature on front free endpaper) — Sotheby's New York, 20 May 2002, lot 108