Libro de albeyteria : emendado y corregido : y añadidas en el sesenta y nueue preguntas /
Jonathan A. Hill, bookseller, description: Old, possibly late 18th century calf-backed boards, spine flat, tooled in gilt, red lettering piece. Restoration to lower corner of several leaves, away from text, title page soiled with a mainly marginal restoration though affecting a little text, still a...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | Spanish |
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[Toledo] :
[publisher not identified],
[8 mayo Mill quinientos onze] [1511]
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| Summary: | Jonathan A. Hill, bookseller, description: Old, possibly late 18th century calf-backed boards, spine flat, tooled in gilt, red lettering piece. Restoration to lower corner of several leaves, away from text, title page soiled with a mainly marginal restoration though affecting a little text, still a good copy considering the extensive use it was probably put to, as evidenced by the extreme rarity. Early edition, first printed in 1495 in Zaragoza, of what is considered the first printed book on Horses, one of two known copies of this edition. The rarity of the book is remarkable, counting all copies of the earlier editions, plus the other known copy of this edition, there are but 17 copies of this book overall, this being one of only two known, of this Toledo edition. "Building on texts that have arrived with the Moors, the first printed book on horses was produced not in Italy but in Spain in 1495, Manuel Diaz's Libro de Albeyteria (Book of Horsekeeping) commissioned by Alfonso V of Aragon" (Susanna Forrest, The Age of the Horse. An Equine journey through Human History, 2016). "Bajo el reinado de Alfonso el Magnanimo, y posiblemente a instancias del propio monarca, fue escrito uno de los tratados de albeiteria mas importantes, y sin duda, el mas destacado de entro los que circularon en Catalan: el Libre de la menescalia de Manuel Dies. Un tratado que fue tambien, en su traduccion castellana, el primer libro de veterinaria que llego a las prensas de los editors en la Peninsula Iberica" (Lluis Cifuentes y Carmel Ferragud, El Libre de la menescalia, Asclepio, vol. I-1-1999. The work was originally composed in Catalan (Llibre de la Menescalia), although first printed in Martin Martinez Dampies' translation into Castilian; the first Catalan edition would only appear in 1515. Immediately proven a handful text to have around, the work was published in 1495, 1499, 1500, 1506 and 1507, and used extensively - possibly a similar case to the first edition of Herrera's treatise on agriculture -, which explains the unusually low number of copies known. Manuel Diez was an Aragonese nobleman who accompanied King Alfonso V to the conquest of Naples in the position of majordomo; he wrote this study on horses and cures around 1424-1436, which circulated first in manuscripts, and later in printed form, both manuscript and printed forms are excessively rare, and constitute one of the earliest sources on veterinary known. Although focused on horses, parts of the book deal with mules. The work is more than a simple treatise on animal caring, it is addressed to the care of one of the most excellent of all animals, the symbol of the nobility of those involved in military or knightly duties; horses played a part of a young man's education, and thus, subjects such as anatomy and physiology are included, as well as qualities to look for in breeding, etc. It is one of the earliest of its kind, and played a significant role in the development of veterinary applied to horses. Norton, 1071. Martin Abad, 585. Perez Pastor, Toledo, 49. Palau, 73707. USTC, 347441. |
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| Item Description: | Includes index. Statement of responsibility from leaf iiii recto. Publication information from colophon (leaf xcvi). Woodcut of horse with decorative top and side borders at head of title; same woodcut of horse surrounded by the signs of the zodiac on title page verso; woodcuts of zodiac signs on leaves ii and iii; woodcuts of bits on leaves xx-xxii. Woodcut initials, leaves vi, lxxxii. Signatures: a-m⁸ A⁶. Misnumbering: LXVII for XLVII, LXXII for LXXVII, LXXIII for LXCIII, LXXXVII for LXXXVIII, XC [upside down V] for XCV. Gothic type. |
| Physical Description: | xcvi leaves, 6 unnumbered leaves : illustrations ; 22 cm |