Zonca, Nuovo teatro di machine et edifici, Padua, 1621, modern vellum

Vittore Zonca

Novo teatro di machine et edificii per varie et sicure operationi. Padua: Francesco Bertelli, 1621

folio (308 x 218mm.), engraved title-page, 42 full-page engraved illustrations (most included in the pagination), modern vellum, A TALL COPY with numerous deckle edges, occasional light staining

First published in 1607, Zonca's treatise on machines was derived from a late fifteenth-century work by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, unpublished but widely circulated (Leonardo da Vinci owned a copy), which demonstrated a wide variety of mechanical designs for mills, winches, pumps and even a printing press for both books and loose prints.

LITERATURE:

USTC 4000678; cf. Norman 2281 (first edition)