105663-01  Kircher, Athanasius.
Ars magna lucis et umbrae in decem libros digesta. (31 x 20 cm). (38) 494 S.; 1 Bl., SS. 495-935, 7 Bll. Mit gestochenem Frontispiz, 43 Kupfern auf 38 (5 gefalteten) Tafeln und ca. 400 Textholzschnitten. Halblederband der Zeit mit blindgeprägtem Rückentitel und rot eingefärbten Pergament-Deckeln.
Rom, Scheus, 1646.
Erste Ausgabe. - "Großangelegte Abhandlung über optische Phänomene, Fluoreszenz, Farben- u(nd) Strahlungslehre, Lichtbrechung, Parabolspiegel, Astronomie usw., dabei auch die früheste Andeutung des Prinzips einer Laterna magica" (Dünnhaupt). - "In 'Ars magna lucis et umbrae' Kircher discusses the sources of light and shadow. The work deals especially with the sun, moon, stars and planets. Kircher also treats phenomena related to light, such as optical illusions, color and refraction, projection and distortion, comets, eclipses, and instruments that use light, such as sundials and mirrors. He theorizes about the type of mirror supposed to have been used by Archimedes to set Roman ships afire, drawing from notes of his own experiments performed in the harbor of Syracuse. The work includes one of the first treatises on phosphorous and fireflies. Here Kircher also published his depictions of Saturn and Jupiter as he saw them through a telescope in Bologna in 1643. On that occasion he observed that the planets were neither perfectly round nor self-luminous, contrary to the popular Aristotelian belief that they are perfect, unchanging spheres. Kircher takes a great interest in sundials and mirrors in this book, and several interesting engravings are of fanciful sundials. He had written extensively on these subjects on his previous work, the 'Primitiae gnomonicae' catoptricae. In 'Ars magna lucis et umbrae' Kircher also discusses an odd ancestor of the modern projector: a device called the 'magic lantern,' of which he is generally, though erroneously, considered the inventor. Before writing this work, Kircher had read Kepler's 'Ad vitellionem paralipomena' (1604), the first modern work on optics... and was influenced to some extent by it. The 'Ars magna lucis et umbrae' reveals Kircher's contribution as an astute observer and cataloguer of natural phenomena" (Merrill). - Frontispiz mit sehr sauber angesetztem oberen und unteren Rand (je ca. 4-5 mm). Stellenweise leicht stockfleckig bzw. gebräunt. Vorderer Vorsatz erneuert. Einband leicht berieben und Gelenke teils sehr sauber restauriert. Insgesamt schönes und sehr gut erhaltenes Exemplar. - DSB 7, 374; Dünnhaupt 2332, 7.1 (fälschlich 43 Tafeln); Merrill 7; Norman 1216; de Backer/Sommervogel IV, 1050, 9; Wellcome III, 394

8.500 €