Gallucci, Giovanni Paolo

Theatrum mundi, et temporis, in quo non solum precipuae horum partes describentur ... sed accomodatissimis figuris sub oculos legentium facilè ponuntur.  Venice: Giovanni Battista Somasco, 1588



4to (9⅜ x 6¾ in.; 238 x 172 mm). Woodcut printer's device on title, 144 full-page woodcuts of which 50 have a total of 74 volvelle parts, 47 are colored in a contemporary hand, and 48 are star maps (two of these colored), woodcut head- and tail-pieces, decorative woodcut initials, some of these handcolored, folding table "canon sexagenarius"; title lightly soiled, 2 volvelles at page 119 loose, 8 volvelles at page 121 loose, 2 volvelles at page 219 loose, 1 volvelle at page 191 misplaced from page 163, the volvelle now on page 163 from page 183,  pointer from page 231 lacking, final 2-leaf quire which is a table of oblique ascensions misbound,  four small marginal tears of which two are mended, small stain from green wash in outer margin of page 31. Contemporary German blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards, decorated in a panel design with roll-tools of heads, apostles, and biblical scenes, manuscript title on spine, blue edges; ties gone, upper joint cracking.

Georg Ayblinger (ms. exlibris dated 1588 on title, other books with this provenance are found in the Universitaetsbibliothek Salzburg) — N. Franchimont (Seventeenth-century signature on title)  — Dionysius de Grün (stamped exlibris on title) — unidentified embossed armorial on front endpaper with two horseshoes and the motto "je maintiendrai" — Robert B. Honeyman (his sale, Sotheby's 5 November 1979, lot 1423)

Adams G168; Mortimer Italian 206; Riccardi I:568

First edition, first issue of the first star atlas with coordinates, as well as the first use of Copernican coordinates in an atlas.

Gallucci's works are known for their visual impact and the present example is no exception."There are 48 woodcut maps of the Ptolemaic constellations, each of which is preceded by a catalogue of the included stars identifying position within the constellation, latitude and longitude (in degrees and minutes), magnitude, and nature ... The longitudes on Gallucci's catalog and on his map are those published by Copernicus in De Revolutionibus (1543)" (Warner). The constellation figures are extremely lively and original here. In this copy the unsigned leaf showing the constellation Cepheus is present (between Mm4 and NN1). The Theatrum mundi was extremely popular, and was published again in 1589 and 1603 and the Spanish translation of 1606 appeared in three subsequent editions.