«Merge Record #»«Title» - Schulz-Falster Rare Books

These plates are apparently very rare. The BL has the first two, and attributes them to
Aristide Michel Perrot, whereas the National Library of Australia has the same two,
but with an attribution to Ferdinand Victor Perrot.
OCLC and KVK list just British Library and National Library of Australia.
Food and Drink - Natural History, Preparation and Qualities of Food Stuffs
58.
PISANELLI, Baldassare. Trattato della Natura de' Cibi et del
Bere….Nel quale non solo tutte le virtù, & i vitij di quelli
minutamente si palesano; ma anco i rimedij per correggere i loro
difetti copiosamente s'insegnano: tanto nell' apparecchiarli per l'uso,
quanto nell'ordinare il modo di riceverli. Distinto in un vago, e
bellisimo partimento, tutto ripieno della dottrina de' piu celebrati
Medici, & Filosofi: con molte belle Historie Naturali. In Venetia,
appresso Gio. Battista Porta, 1584 £ 2750
4to, pp. [viii], [ii] blank,1- 144, 155-162, (vere 152); printed throughout
within a woodcut frame; woodcut title vignette, illustrated initial and
head-piece; barely noticeable repair to blank margin of title page;
contemporary full vellum, spine lettered in manuscript; ties lacking; a
fine copy.
First public edition, uncommon, of this very early cookery and gastronomy book,
only preceded by a folio edition of 1583 published in Rome. Baldassare Pisanelli
describes the natural history, the usages, the qualities of fruits (such as apples,
strawberries, grapes etc) and vegetables (such as mushrooms, artichokes, carrots,
fennel, cucumbers etc), liqueurs, meats, game, fish, milk, cheese etc, and gives
detailed information of the conditions under which such food and drinks should be
used. The information is laid out in a very attractive form for easy reference. Two
types of food are described per page opening within a woodcut border, in each case
sub-headings are given in the left-hand margin, detailing selection of the food stuff,
benefits, its detrimental effects, its medical properties, and the time of year when
they are available or best used. On the opposite page the natural history of each item
is described. There is a special section devoted exclusively to wine, with its various
types and usage.
Pisanelli (fl. 1559-1583), a medical doctor from Bologna, became famous on the
strength of this book, which went through numerous subsequent editions until the
mid seventeenth century.
Most bibliographies list this 1584 edition as the first edition.
B.IN.G. 1498; BM STC Italian p. 521; Cagle 1168; Horn-Arndt 72; Simon Bibliotheca
Bacchica II.507; Simon Bibliotheca Gastronomica 1171; Vicaire 682 (listing this edition
as the first); Westbury, p. 173; uncommon, OCLC lists just three copies of this edition