Manetti, Saverio

FIRST EDITION, 5 volumes, folio (490 x 375mm.), 5 engraved additional titles, printed titles in Italian and Latin with engraved vignettes, 2 engraved dedications, engraved portrait (copies are known with up to three portraits), 600 hand-coloured engraved plates, nineteenth-century half pigskin, edges uncut, [Fine Bird Books, p.10; Nissen IVB 558; Wood, p.450], volume 5 with several upper corners restored, occasionally touching plate numbers, and with repaired tears and minor soiling

Marchesi Corsi, of Florence, bookplate depicting the Villa Corsi Salviati in Sesto Fiorentino

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"Storia naturale degli uccelli... was one of the finest bird books issued to that date and one of the most sumptuous publications of the eighteenth century in Italy" (Christine Jackson, Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World).

"Impressive, too, was... Manetti's Ornithologia methodice digesta, the flamboyant forerunner of the splendid ornithological folios which were to appear in the nineteenth century. The production of its five massive folio volumes must have been one of the most remarkable publishing ventures ever undertaken in Florence. Begun in 1767 and completed ten years later, it was larger, better engraved and more vividly coloured than any previous book on birds" (S. Peter Dance, The Art of Natural History, p.70).