Description

>8^ (193x130 mm). 46 pp. (including half title), last leaf blank. Lacking a leaf in the first quire, probably blank. Two woodcut decorative initials, one fine headpiece. Contemporary decorated wrappers, with small leaf pattern; multi-colored edges. A very good copy, somewhat spotting; a few small wormholes to the gutter, not affecting text. A marginal correction on l. C2v. On half title the pencilled note ‘poche copie’.
First edition of this rare treatise – dedicated to William Hamilton - by the Neapolitan antiquarian, and naturalist D’Ancora, known for his studies on Herculaneum (see item 88). The author deals with the pozzi cavi, a seismic protective system, whose origin may be traced to Antiquity, and supports his observations and findings with extensive bibliographical details, mostly taken from Plinius (see items A and 1). A. Ottaviani, Gaetano D’Ancora fra antiquaria, filologia e storia naturale, in Le scienze a Napoli tra Illuminismo e Restaurazione, Roma 2011, pp. 61-78.