ALDROVANDI, Ulisse (1522-1605). Ornithologiae. Bologna: Johannes Baptista Bellagamba, 1599. [With:] Ornithologiae tomus alter. Bologna: Nicolò Tebaldini, 1634. [And:] Ornithologiae tomus tertius ac postremus. Bologna: Johannes Baptista Bellagamba 1603.

ALDROVANDI, Ulisse (1522-1605). Ornithologiae. Bologna: Johannes Baptista Bellagamba, 1599. [With:] Ornithologiae tomus alter. Bologna: Nicolò Tebaldini, 1634. [And:] Ornithologiae tomus tertius ac postremus. Bologna: Johannes Baptista Bellagamba 1603.

The botanist Robert More’s copy of Aldrovandi’s important precursor to Linnaeus; a mixed edition, uniformly bound: the first edition of vols 1 and 3 and a later edition of vol. 2. This encyclopedic treatise describes 450 bird species, representing an “ambitious project to present the animal kingdom as a systematic structure of families and orders” a century before Linnaeus (Nonaka). Aldrovandi, the owner of a renowned cabinet of curiosities, was the consummate Renaissance natural philosopher. The present work brings together not just the science of birds, but also the history of their symbolism in myth and art, their pharmacological and culinary properties, and even accounts of legendary birds such as the harpy and the roc—reflecting the Renaissance belief in the unity of art, science, and philosophy. Robert More was a friend of Carl Linnaeus and fellow of the Royal Society, notable for re-introducing the larch to Britain. Nissen IVB 18; cf. Nonaka, Renaissance Porticoes and Painted Pergolas, p. 171.

Three volumes, folio (351 x 233mm). 3 engraved titles; portraits of Aldrovandi in vols 1 and 3; numerous woodcuts by Lorenzo Bennini, Cornelio Schwindt, and Jacopo Ligozzi throughout, many of which full page; woodcut initials and ornaments. 18th-century paneled calf (rebacked preserving portions of the original spine). Provenance: Robert More (1703-1780, English politician and botanist; bookplates).