Ferrari, Giovanni Battista

Hesperides sive de malorum aureorum cultura et usu libri quatuor. Rome: sumptibus Hermanni Scheus, 1646 



Folio (13 1/2 x 9 in.; 343 x 228 mm). Engraved title, woodcut Jesuit monogram on title, 100 full-page engraved plates, decorative woodcut initials; first quire strengthened on stub with dampstain in upper outer corner and some spotting, a few quires browned, occasional spotting. Contemporary vellum, manuscript title on spine; recased, endpapers renewed, some stains and soiling.

Convent of the Franciscan Recollects at San Sepolcro (Tuscany, contemporary gift inscription on title)

Hunt 243; Oak Spring Pomona 67; Nissen BBI 621

Hesperides sive de malorum aureorum cultura et usu libri quatuor. Rome: sumptibus Hermanni Scheus, 1646 Folio (13 1/2 x 9 in.; 343 x 228 mm). Engraved title, woodcut Jesuit monogram on title, 100 full-page engraved plates, decorative woodcut initials; first quire strengthened on stub with dampstain in upper outer corner and some spotting, a few quires browned, occasional spotting. Contemporary vellum, manuscript title on spine; recased, endpapers renewed, some stains and soiling.
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First edition of the first book completely devoted to citrus fruit.  The author (1583–1655), a Jesuit professor of Hebrew at the Collegio Romano, was a gardening advisor to the papal family (Barberini) and part of the circle of scientists, including Galileo, that benefitted from the patronage of Maffeo Barberini (who became Urban VIII in 1623). Managing the new garden at the Barberini Palace, he created a collection of the newly discovered plants from Asia, Africa, and America. 

Much of the content of the Hesperides was gathered by the author's friend Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588–1657), secretary to Cardinal Francesco Barberini. The work devotes one book to the archaeological, numismatic, mythological, and etymological sources concerning citrus fruit, and then three books to citrons, lemons, and oranges. Eighty plates of fruit were designed by Cornelis Bloemaert, who engraved most of the rest, which were the work of Andrea Sacchi, Nicolas Poussin, Guido Reni, et al. Seven plates are devoted to statues and other images of Hercules, while the rest are mythological scenes, garden buildings and tools.