KIRCHER, Athanasius (1602-1680). Mundus subterraneus in XII libros digestus. Amsterdam: J. Jansson and E. Weyerstrat, 1665. 2 volumes in one, 2 o (391 x 235 mm). 2 engraved titles, engraved portrait of the author and Pope Alexander VII, 21 engraved plates (including 8 folding, 4 double-page, and 2 small plates), 7 inserted double-page or folding letterpress tables, and numerous engraved and woodcut illustrations in text (including 2 volvelles, not assembled). Contemporary blindstamped vellum, spine ink-lettered (rebacked, preserving original spine, remnants of cloth ties). FIRST EDITION of Kircher's influential encyclopaedic survey of the subterranean or "hidden" world. Based on his experiences of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1637 and the two weeks of earthquakes that shook Calabria in 1638, Kircher's Mundus subterraneus marks the first serious effort to describe the physical makeup of the earth, proposing theories (sometimes fantastic) in the areas of physics, geography, geography, geology and chemistry. He suggests the existence of a vast network of underground spings and reservoirs, as well as the theory that subterranean temperatures increase directly in proportion to depth. The world map (Shirley 436) was one of the earliest to show ocean currents with any degree of accuracy. Caillet 5783; Ferguson I, p. 467; Graesse IV:21; Nissen ZBI 2196; Sabin 37967; Wellcome III, p. 395; Norman 1218.
KIRCHER, Athanasius (1602-1680). Mundus subterraneus in XII libros digestus. Amsterdam: J. Jansson and E. Weyerstrat, 1665. 2 volumes in one, 2 o (391 x 235 mm). 2 engraved titles, engraved portrait of the author and Pope Alexander VII, 21 engraved plates (including 8 folding, 4 double-page, and 2 small plates), 7 inserted double-page or folding letterpress tables, and numerous engraved and woodcut illustrations in text (including 2 volvelles, not assembled). Contemporary blindstamped vellum, spine ink-lettered (rebacked, preserving original spine, remnants of cloth ties). FIRST EDITION of Kircher's influential encyclopaedic survey of the subterranean or "hidden" world. Based on his experiences of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1637 and the two weeks of earthquakes that shook Calabria in 1638, Kircher's Mundus subterraneus marks the first serious effort to describe the physical makeup of the earth, proposing theories (sometimes fantastic) in the areas of physics, geography, geography, geology and chemistry. He suggests the existence of a vast network of underground spings and reservoirs, as well as the theory that subterranean temperatures increase directly in proportion to depth. The world map (Shirley 436) was one of the earliest to show ocean currents with any degree of accuracy. Caillet 5783; Ferguson I, p. 467; Graesse IV:21; Nissen ZBI 2196; Sabin 37967; Wellcome III, p. 395; Norman 1218.
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