Secreti del reverendo donno Alessio Piemontese

"LIBER RARISSIMUS": THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT PRINTED BOOK OF SECRETS... EXCEEDINGLY RARE!

FIRST EDITION. 4to, 6 books in 1 volume, pp. (1-24), 25-229 [i.e. 237], [1], lacking final blank. Roman letter, a little Italic. Printer's device on t-p, woodcut decorated initials, small ornamental woodcut on the first page of the text, placed between the printed letters "G." and "R." (perhaps a reference to the initials of the real name of the author? No bibliography mentions this detail). The printer's prefatory letter and the "table of all the secrets" precede the text. A list of "uncommon vocabularies" and the register follows the text at the colophon. Slightly soiled t-p, occasional light damp stains and foxing at margins. Bound in late C19th/early 20th decorated paper over pasteboard, gilt title to spine. Some scuffing along covers' extremities, little loss of paper at spine caps and corners. Pencil purchase note, dated 1930, and reference to Brunet, I, 159 (Ediz. Orig.") on upper pastedown. Overall, a very good copy.

This is the mysterious first edition of an exceptionally famous work dedicated to popular medicine, which includes plenty of practical advices for the day-to-day life and alchemical notions. The preface to the 1567 edition, written by Sansovino, ascribes this work published under the pseudonym of Alexis of Piedmont to Girolamo Ruscelli, who was a Renaissance alchemist, mathematician and cartographer from Viterbo, mainly active in Venice. The authorship of this work has been long debated, however, today there is general consensus on the attribution to Ruscelli. Furthermore, the presence of the above-mentioned initials on the first page of the text would seem to confirm the attribution. Nevertheless, this work became soon incredibly popular, to such an extent that it had been translated into English, German, French and Latin within 10 years from its publication. Three additional parts were published in Italian in 1558, 1559 and 1569. By the end of the 16th century – in less than 50 years! – it had already been printed more than 50 times. Notwithstanding such enormous early success, or perhaps exactly because of this incredible proliferation of editions, the first issue of the work had shortly become rare to say the least. The Latin notion "liber rarissimus" suit this item well. Even though the title has it so, "newly printed", suggesting that an earlier edition existed, no copy of such book was ever found. The preface to the second edition, published in 1557, nevertheless, states that the work was first written and printed in Latin. According to Thorndike, it can be upheld at reason that this book is the progenitor of the long and great tradition of the literature of secrets. These secrets include popular medical recipes often based on magical and alchemical principles, empirical notions of cosmetics, metallurgy, gemmology, and practical tips for the everyday life.

Ferguson, Bibliotheca Chemica, I, pp. 22-23 (mentions only the 1568 edition); Ferguson, Books of Secrets, III, 33-37; Durling 106; Norman 1860; Partington II, 28-29; Thorndike VI, 215-216; Edit16 CNCE 73590 (only 3 copies).