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MARSILI (Luigi Ferdinando). Physical history of the sea.
See original version (French)
MARSILI (Luigi Ferdinando). Physical history of the sea.
See original version (French)
Lot no. 51
MARSILI (Luigi Ferdinando).
Physical history of the sea.
Amsterdam: Aux dépens de la compagnie, 1725. - In-folio, 357 x 240: frontispiece, (4 ff.), 173 pp. 50 plates, 2 maps. Brown spotted calf, spine ribbed and decorated, marbled edges (contemporary binding).
Nissen, ZBI, 2699. - Norman, 1145. - Koeman, IV, 421.
First French edition, dedicated to "Messieurs de l'Académie royale des sciences de Paris", of this work by the Italian soldier, geographer, naturalist, geologist and botanist Luigi Ferdinando Marsili or Marsigli (1658-1730). The translation is by Jean Leclerc.
It is the first book entirely devoted to marine sciences and the first oceanographic study of a single region, i.e. the Gulf of Lions in the south of France.
"The Count of Marsili (1658-1730) [...] is considered to be the founder of oceanography following the publication of this work. He made observations in the field, studying the seabed in the Gulf of Lion, the classification of species, currents and the properties of seawater, recalling that his entire scientific approach was based "on experiments and observations that I made myself in the field".
His discoveries about coral and its 'flowers' attracted a great deal of attention from scientists, since coral has been classified in the mineral kingdom since antiquity. Marsili noticed that branches of red coral he had collected were covered in white flowers within a few hours. He deduced that coral was a living organism, part of the animal kingdom, which marked a decisive turning point in our knowledge of the marine environment" (Sandrine Bodin, Sorbonne library website, link; https ://patrimoine.sorbonne-universite.fr/permalink/article/74-9).
The edition is illustrated with a fine allegorical frontispiece engraved by Matthys Pool (1670-1732?), a title vignette, 40 plates of corals and other marine plants engraved by the same artist, two maps, one entitled "Du golfe de Lion entre le cap Sisie en Provence et le Cap de Quiers en Roussillon" ("Of the Gulf of Lion between Cape Sisie in Provence and Cape Quiers in Roussillon"), the other of the coast between Cape Canaille and Cape Croisette, which today forms the Calanques national park, and 10 other plates, most of them sections and tables.
This copy, in a contemporary binding, does not include the 6 leaves of the preface by Mr Herman Boerhaave that are usually found after the preface.
A fine copy.
Some rare and minor worm work to the binding, not serious, one corner dulled.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
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