JAMNITZER (Wenzel). Perspectivae Sintagma, in... Lot 1493

[JAMNITZER (Wenzel). Perspectivae Sintagma, in quo varia eximiaque corporum diagrammata ex praescripto Opticae exhibentur : in primis necessarium & utile opus omnibus artis Perspectivae cultoribus. Amsterdam, Janssonius, 1626. Small in-4 (26 x 18,5 cm) of [1] f. (engraved title in a beautiful frame), [2] ff. and [2] folding plates and 49 plates engraved on double pages by Jost Amman after Jamnitzer (according to Cicognara) signed. A1-G6-H4-I3. Red morocco, spine ribbed and decorated, title page in blond marble, triple gilt fillet framing the boards (modern binding). Title leaf cut and mounted, same for the 2 text pages and the 2 folding plates, very small marginal foxing, slight light marginal spotting on the last plates. Very rare third edition of Jamnitzer's famous book on perspective, first published in 1568 under the title 'Perspectiva corporum regularium'. Complete copies of this superb suite of plates are very rare. Jamnitzer came from a family of goldsmiths, sculptors and craftsmen. His father, Hans Jamnitzer I (died in Nuremberg, ca. 1548-1549), a silversmith from Vienna, settled with his family in Nuremberg, where his descendants worked successfully for at least three generations. The most illustrious member of the family was none other than Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508-1585), who was to become one of the most important theorists of perspective in the 16th century, along with his colleagues Hans Lencker and Hans Hayden, who also lived in Nuremberg. Nuremberg was the centre of scientific instrument construction throughout Europe, making it the ideal place for the study of perspective and the development of theories derived from it. In his treatise, Jamnitzer concentrates mainly on the representation of regular and semi-regular polyhedra, following the example set by Leonardo da Vinci in his illustrations of Pacioli's 'De Divina Proportione'. A very fine copy, very well preserved in a beautiful modern binding. (Cicognara 859 for the 2nd edition).