Cosmographia ... In tres dialogos distincta: in quibus de forma, situ, numeroque tam coelorum quam elementorum aliisque rebus ad astronomica rudimenta spectantibus satis differitur.

Venice, heirs of Luc'Antonio Giunta, 1543. With woodcut printer's device on title and a larger one on A3 verso, numerous historiated initials and 55 woodcut diagrams in the text. 4 unn., 103 num. leaves, 4 unn. leaves "Ad Lectorem" bound at end (lacking the preceding blank). 4to. 17th-century vellum with spine label. Venice, heirs of Luc'Antonio Giunta, 1543. First edition of an outstanding astronomical treatise containing a discussion of the Earth's rotation on its axis. This is the Sicilian born mathematician Maurolico's (1494-1575) first and most important work, including the 4-leaf "Ad Lectorem" often missing, a convenient list of the astronomical parameters culled from various authorities found embedded within the text - which is dated 5 December 1542. Written in the form of three dialogues, this work was completed at Messina 21 October 1535 (f.103). But the preface, a dedicatory letter to Cardinal Bembo with a list of Maurolico's numerous unpublished works, is dated 5 February 1540, the year of publication of Rheticus' "Narratio prima", where he could have learned about the Copernican theory. Maurolico's comprehensive introduction to astronomy includes references to the voyages of Vespucci and Columbus' discovery of America (f.18r and f.34v), and the evidence that discussions of the earth's motion were in the air. The author sought to revive the Eudoxine system, a geocentric, homocentric system of spheres designed to account for the motion of planets as seen from the earth without recourse to the epicycles of Ptolemy. It has been suggested that this is the first work to attack Copernicus in print. As the latter's epoch making "De revolutionibus" was also published in 1543, "it must remain an open question whether Maurolico alludes to Calcagnini or Copernicus" (Dreyer, History of the Planetary Systems, p. 295). One dialogue between teacher and pupil treats "the absurdity of the earth moving and turning on its axis". Further contained are discussions of the theory and use of various astronomical instruments and the computation of time. Maurolico, one of the greatest geographers of the sixteenth century, was an outstanding mathematician, who made fundamental contributions to mathematics, mechanics, and optical science. - Some old ms. annotations, waterstain towards the end, title-page descreetly cleaned. - Adams M-917; Alden/Landis 543/14; Graesse III, 450 ("la plupart des ex. sont défectueux de 4 ff. à la fin"); Harrisse (Additions) 142; Houzeau/Lancaster 2411 ("rare"); DSB IX, 190f.; Riccardi I, 2, 140 ("bella ediz., raro"); Sabin 46957 ("very rare volume"); Stillwell 79. GEOGRAPHY: COSMOGRAPHY ;