Pietra paragone de' cavalieri, [.] divisa in cinque libri.

Folio (332 x 218 mm). With engraved frontispiece, portrait of the author, and 140 engravings, all but one full-page. Contemporary full vellum with manuscript lettering to spine. First edition of this rare Italian riding school, covering all aspects of horse breeding, training and care, lavishly illustrated with 140 engravings. A second, enlarged edition, also apparently rare, was published in 1723 under the title "Opera". The work is divided into five parts: the first, "Regole di cavalcare" with one plate; the second, "[.] ove si tratta del difficilissimo mestiere dell' imbrigliare"; the third, "[.] dell' istesso", with 95 illustrations of bits, etc.; the fourth, "Disegni de' circoli" with 10 diagrams and "Ritratti d'uomini illustri" with 27 portraits, about half of which show mounted figures; the fifth, "[.] intorno alla preservativa, conservatione, e medicina per cavalli" with 7 plates, also including other animals (such as a rhinoceros). - Errata leaf at beginning, some leaves browned or spotted. No copy in auction records of the last decades. - Huth p. 28. Brunet I, 159. Graesse I, 68.