Kircher (Athanasius) Ars magna lucis et umbrae,... Lot n° 47

Kircher (Athanasius) Ars magna lucis et umbrae, 2 parts in 1, first edition, additional engraved title by Pierre Miotte, title and half-title with woodcut vignettes, 40 engraved plates, 1 folding, name crossed out at tail of title, occasional light spotting, contemporary vellum, manuscript lettering to spine, corners a little bumped, spine wormholed, folio, Rome, Ludovici Grignani for Hermanni Scheus, 1646. ⁂ First edition of Kircher's principal contribution to optics, discussing the treatment of light, shadow, and colour, while seeking parallels between the action of light and that of magnetism. Among the optical topics discussed and investigated by Kircher in this work are bioluminescence, the projection of sun or candlelight onto mirrors painted in colours or through painted glass spheres, and the military use of mirrors by Archimedes to set fire to Roman ships (a phenomenon that Kircher thought probable). The first published account of the illumination and projection of images appeared in this first edition. The work also includes some of the earliest observations with a microscope, preceding those of Hooke and van Leeuwenhoek by two decades.