Nuovo Trattato Di qualsivoglia sorte Di Vernici Comunemente dette Della China Formate.
Bologna, L. della Volpe 1764.
8vo (172 x 115 mm.). 175, [1]p. and TWO ENGRAVED PLATES ON ONE FOLDING LEAF.
Contemporary vellum over flexible paper boards (worn, soiled), manuscript spine title (faded).
First Edition of this recipe book for artists, artisans and householders. We find instructions on producing gums, solvents, tinctures of all sorts, finishes for wood, metal, paper and leather, fixatives, dozens of colors, acid for biting/cutting copperplates, pastes for porcelain and maiolica and, of course, eighty varieties of varnish. In the varia department, the author covers toothpaste, Captain Parenti’s cure for rabies, gunpowder for firearms and for fireworks, “never-fail fish bait”, perfumes, liqueurs, specialized cleaning agents, plant food, artificial flowers, bread, pastries, chocolate, sorbets, pastas…. There are even notes on coloring tarot cards. Scattered foxing, heavier in some quires, old repair to the blank verso of the folding plate; manuscript initials f.g.r.m.g. on the title, 12 lines of manuscript recipes on the rear flyleaf.
¶Ron, Bibliotheca tinctoria 486; Borroni Salvadori, “Il Cicognara” Bibliografia dell’archeologia classica 17161; see Ferchl-Mittenwald’s Chemisch-pharmazeutisches Bio- und Bibliographikon 205 (1784 ed.); not in Ferguson’s Books of Secrets.
Price: $1,600.00