Mirami - Specularia [Bound w:] Tavole - 1582

[Please note that the background setting in some images was created using AI to present the books in a pleasant environment. These background elements do not alter or affect the true representation and condition of the books] 2 RENAISSANCE TREATISES ON MIRRORS AND THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT - 2 COMPLETE WORKS NO SECOND PART BOUND TO THE PRINTS Very rare first and only edition of the only known works by Rafael Mirami, enigmatic Ferrara-born Jewish physician and mathematician: the Compendiosa introduttione alla prima parte della specularia and the complementari Tavole della prima parte della specularia, both published in Ferrara in 1582 by the heirs of Francesco Rossi and Paolo Tortorino. Although the title explicitly announces a “first part,” bibliographically no second part of the Specularia seems to have been published: major census lists and the surviving copies record only these two texts from 1582, defined by modern antiquarian bibliography as the sole publications known of Mirami. The work represents one of the most unusual Italian scientific treatises of late Renaissance, devoted to the theory of mirrors, to the reflection of light and to geometric cathetometry. Mirami studies plane, concave and convex mirrors through diagrams and mathematical arguments, interweaving the scientific treatment with poetic quotations from Dante, Petrarch and Horace in surprisingly close dialogue. The Tavole possess autonomous title pages and pagination and are catalogued separately by EDIT16, while other bibliographies treat them as an integral part of the treatise; in any case they constitute the complement to the “first part” and not a second part of the work. WHY TO BUY FIRST AND ONLY EDITION – FERRARA 1582! The only known works of the enigmatic Rafael Mirami. NO KNOWN SECOND PART! The “first part” announced in the title appears, as documented, to be the only part of the Specularia brought to print. THE SCIENCE OF MIRRORS IN THE RENAISSANCE! A very rare treatise on geometric optics, reflection, concave, convex and plane mirrors. MATHEMATICS + DANTE + PETRARCA + HORACE! An extraordinary fusion of science and humanistic culture. MARKET VALUE The bibliographic rarity of the work is notable: the market sporadically records the set consisting of the Compendiosa introduttione and the Tavole, i.e., the entire known corpus of the Specularia; the absence of a “second part” does not imply incompleteness of the copy, since no continuation is known or catalogued. One copy was valued at $4,000-6,000 in 2018. For a good copy like this, complete with the two publications from 1582, a realistic retail value is in the range of €3,000-4,000, with potential for higher offers for copies in contemporary bindings, in excellent condition or with important scientific provenance. PHYSICAL / CONDITION Two complementary works bound in one volume. Compendiosa introduttione alla prima parte della specularia, followed by Tavole della prima parte della specularia. The reference to the “first part” does not imply the lack of a second part: no continuation is published and these two publications constitute the entire known corpus of Mirami’s Specularia. Later binding in half leather, spine with manuscript title. Variant with white sheet I4. Frontispiece with a woodcut printer’s mark; numerous woodcut diagrams in the text; paper [Latin cross]2 bound at the end. Bound with Tavole della prima parte della specularia, i.e., of the science of mirrors, Ferrara, 1582, with its own frontispiece and last leaf bearing a woodcut printer’s mark. Last two leaves with minor marginal losses affecting a few letters of the text and the imprint, restored with manuscript insertions. Embossed initial letters. Professional restoration to the white lower corner of the first frontispiece and to some additional leaves. Uniform browning. Pp. (2); 8nn; 70; (2); 28nn; (2). As with all antique volumes, minor defects or restorations not expressly mentioned may be present. FULL TITLES & AUTHORS Rafael Mirami, “Hebreo Fisico, e Matematico”. Compendiosa introduttione alla prima parte della specularia, cioè della scienza de gli specchi. Opera nova, nella quale brevemente, e con facil modo si discorre intorno agli specchi e si rende la cagione di tutti i loro miracolosi effetti. Ferrara: appresso gli Heredi di Francesco Rossi, & Paolo Tortorino, Compagni, 1582. Legato con: Rafael Mirami. Tavole della prima parte della specularia, cioè della scienza de gli specchi. Ferrara: appresso gli Heredi di Francesco Rossi, & Paolo Tortorino, Compagni, 1582. PRIMA E UNICA EDIZIONE. Le Tavole possiedono frontespizio e collazione autonomi e sono trattate come opera distinta da EDIT16, ma costituiscono materialmente e concettualmente il complemento della Compendiosa introduttione. Nessuna seconda parte della Specularia risulta pubblicata. BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR Little is known about Rafael Mirami outside of what he himself states in the work, where he presents himself as a “Hebreo Fisico, e Matematico” tied to the Ferrara environment. The scarcity of biographical documentation has even led to speculation that Rafael Mirami may be a pseudonym. Christie’s defines the Compendiosa introduttione and the Tavole as the author’s only known publications. No other works by him are known, nor has a second part of the Specularia been traced: the proposed structure suggested by the words “first part” did not, as far as known catalogs attest, have a print continuation. Mirami’s peculiarity lies also in his ability to fuse mathematical culture and humanistic training: his arguments on reflection and mirrors are accompanied by verses from Dante, Petrarch and Horace, up to the presence of a concluding original poetic composition. RARITY The rarity of Mirami’s Specularia is exceptional in several respects. It is the first and only edition, published in Ferrara in 1582, and simultaneously the only known works of the author. ([Christie’s][1]) Even more significant is the fact that, although the title announces a “first part,” no “second part of the Specularia” is documented today in the consulted repertoires or collections: this makes the present set not a fragment of a materially incomplete work, but the entire known corpus of Mirami’s scientific project. The Compendiosa and Tavole are both attested in 1582 and appear together in copies described by major collections and specialized sales. The specialized character of the subject matter, the presence of scientific diagrams, the declared Jewish identity of the author, and the unusual fusion of optics and poetry give the volume exceptional cross-disciplinary interest for the history of science, Italian Jewish history, mathematics, and Renaissance culture. HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE In the late Renaissance, the study of mirrors belonged to a broader reflection on geometric optics, perspective, and the propagation and reflection of light. Mirami’s Specularia constitutes a particularly original testimony of this Italian scientific culture: diagrams and figures illustrate phenomena related to plane, concave and convex mirrors, while the mathematical discourse is placed within a culture that remains fully humanistic. The fact that the “first part” remained the only part known increases the historical charm of the work: we are faced with the surviving trace of a scientific project that the title seems to contemplate as broader, but for which no print continuation is known. This conclusion is consistent with catalogs that record only the two Ferrara 1582 texts and with the definition of the set as first and only edition. BIBLIOGRAPHY EDIT16, CNCE 28773, Rafael Mirami, Compendiosa introduttione alla prima parte della specularia, Ferrara, 1582. EDIT16, CNCE 38369, Rafael Mirami, Tavole della prima parte della specularia, Ferrara, 1582. The two separate registrations explain why bibliographically they can be described as two works, while constituting a strictly dependent whole. Riccardi, Biblioteca matematica italiana, I, II, p. 162. Wellcome, I, 4341; the repertory regards the Tavole within the main work. Folger Shakespeare Library, Compendiosa introduttione alla prima parte della specularia, Ferrara, 1582. Universidad de Granada, digitized copies of the Compendiosa introduttione and of the Tavole della prima parte della specularia, both Ferrara 1582. Christie’s, The Giancarlo Beltrame Library of Scientific Books, description of the set as “first and only edition” and as the only known publications of Rafael Mirami. Sotheby’s, The Library of the Earls of Macclesfield, collection of the two 1582 texts as two parts of the Specularia

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