[Rarebooks] FS: 1st ed. of Kircher's key study of musical knowledge. Rome: 1650

[Karmbooks at aol.com]

(MUSIC) Kircher, Athanasius. MUSURGIA UNIVERSALIS, Sive, Ars Magna Consoni 
et Dissoni in X Libros Digesta, Qua Universa Sonorium Doctrina, & 
Philosophia, Musicaeque Tam Theoricae... Rome: Ex Typographia Haeredum Francisci 
Corbelletti. 1650. Folio. 2 volumes in 1. (20),690(i.e. 692);(2),462,(36)pp. 
Index & final leaf of errata. Added engraved allegorical title (slight loss at 
bottom outer corner), portrait of Archduke Leopold William of Austria and 21 
plates on 20 sheets (numbered I-XXIII; IV & V on a single sheet, and XI & 
XII being the frontispiece to Volume 2) complete as published. Cont. vellum, 
spine hand-lettered, somewhat soiled. Title page with a small paper ex-libris 
label of Alexandri-Ludovici Charpentier De Beaumont. Bookplate of Cornelius 
J. Hauck on front pastedown. Some occasional text soiling. Plate XX with a 
neatly repaired tear. Overall a nice copy in its original binding.     
$8,500.00 (trade discount allowed)
First edition of Kircher's encyclopedia of music, and details of sound, 
rhythm and accent. He was assisted in its compilation by A. M. Abbatini and J. 
Viva. The first volume deals with the theory and history of music, the 
second with the practical side of music-making including not only conventional 
instruments but also water-organs, a speaking tube for conversing over long 
distances and a mechanical device for composing music. Kircher was the first 
to ascertain in this work the transmission of sound in solid bodies. Bruner 
III:668; Caillet 5785; Sommervogel IV, p. 1051.

Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller, Inc.
P.O. Box 464
Santa Monica, CA 90406
Tel. (310) 451-4342; Fax. (310) 458-5930
Email: karmbooks at aol.com





**************
Looking for love this summer? Find it now on AOL Personals. 
(http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove00000003)