[Schott, Kaspar]. Joco-seriorum naturae et artis, sive magiae naturalis, centuriae tres: Das ist Drey-hundert nütz- und lustige Sätze allerhand merck-würdiger Stücke: Von Schimpff und Ernst. Genommen auß der Kunst und Natur, oder natürlichen Magia. Benebens einem Zusatz oder Anhang von Wunder-deutenden Creutzen.

Bamberg, Johann Martin Schönwetter, 1677.

4to. (6), 330 (but: 328), (8) pp. With engraved frontispiece and 22 numbered engraved plates, one of which folded. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards.

 2,000.00

Reissue (with new title-page only) of the first German edition, published in 1672. "A collection of three hundred chemical and physical experiments, mathematical and magic tricks, alchemy, cryptography, and other curious matter. Includes descriptions of a water clock, angels, bees, bird-catching, optical illusions, the transformation of water into wine, a perpetuum mobile, how to make artificial snow, the camera obscura, long-lasting lamps and much more. The engravings show various physical, optical, and chemical experiments Also includes Athanasius Kircher's 'Diatribe' (at the end of the volume), which gives an account of an apparition of the Holy Cross during an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 1160" (cf. Dünnhaupt).

Rather severely browned due to paper. Untrimmed. Contemporary handwritten ownership to pastedown; latterly in the library of the Viennese collector Werner Habel (1939-2015) with his handwritten and stamped ownership, dated 1981.

References

VD 17, 23:270371D. Dünnhaupt² p. 3822, no. 13.II.1. Rosenthal 3049. Caillet 10003 ("Ouvrage récherché, enrichi d'un nombre considérable de fig. gravées"). This edition not in de Backer/Sommervogel.