Vintage 1628 RARE book PALINGENIUS on SIGNS OF ZODIAC Start Price USD 149.95 Current Price USD 259.00 Time Left - Bid Count 3 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, September 05, 2008 End Time Friday, September 12, 2008 Location Cadyville, New York See more about 'Vintage 1628 RARE book PALINGENIUS on SIGNS OF ZODIAC' Description A RARE 1628 BOOK OF THE ITALIAN POET PALINGENIUS'S ASTROLOGICAL POEMS ON THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC TITLE FRAMED BY 24 VIGNETTE ILLUSTRATIONS DEPICTING THE 12 SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC Palingenius Stellatus, Marcellus. MARCELLI PALINGENII STELLATI POETAE DOCTISSIMI ZODIACUS VITAE, HOC EST DE HOMINIS VITA, STUDIO, AC MORIBUS OPTIME INSTITUENDIS, LIBRI XII. Amstelodami: Apud Ioannem Ianssonium, 1628. 12mo, 4-1/2 inches high by 3 inches wide. Vellum bound hardcover. Early natural cream vellum with a gilt-titled brown leather label mounted on the spine. The soiled vellum is split along the front joint. 315 pages and a [37] page index. The title page is framed by 24 vignette illustrations, each depicting one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac. 2 decorative woodcut initials and a tail-piece also illustrate the book. The pages are darkened with some occasional early ink underlining. A small piece out from the front edge of page 104 affects the opening letters of 2 lines of text. The edges of the front and rear endpapers and blanks are quite chipped as is the front edge of the last few leaves of the index. There is some minor dampstaining to the top edge of the last 6 leaves. An early 19th century owner's name is penned on the front blank. Quite good. The initial letters of the first 29 lines of the first book of the Zodiac (Aries) spell out the name "Marcellus Palingenius Stellatus". Very little is known about the Italian poet Marcellus Palingenius Stellatus. Although the name is said to possibly be a pseudonym of Pier Angelo Manzolii of Stellato, it has also been attributed to others including Marc Antonio Flamini. His philosophical poem "Zodiacus Vitae" was first published in the 1530's, prior to the Catholic Counter-Reformation. According to an unattributed article published by Dartmouth in 1999, entitled "As the World Turned: A Reader on the Progress of the Heliocentric Argument from Copernicus to Galileo", this pre-Copernican work divided into 12 books representing each sign of the Zodiac was placed on the very first Index of Prohibited Books "Index Librorum Prohibitorum" in 1559. Palingenius's bones were burned for heresy after his death. According to the article "This greatly increased his popularity among Protestants, and the poem did brisk business in England. At the age of nineteen, Barnabe Googe zealously undertook the translation of Zodiacus Vitae, publishing the first three books in 1560. A version with the first six books translated appeared in the following year, and finally the complete translation, The Zodiake of Life, in 1565, republished in 1588. The Latin edition first appeared in 1572, and went through no fewer than six subsequent printings in the ensuing decades." Indeed, Dartmouth's article places Palingenius's work in the highly rarefied company of those great minds which influenced the world's thoughts in regards to the Heliocentric view of the universe. "Gathered here, along with Copernicus himself and a curiously influential piece of poetry, is a sampling of that rather small number of individuals who published their views in support of his theory in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century." Included in this list of works are Nicholas Copernicus' "De Revolutionibus", John Dee's "The Mathematicall Praeface", Robert Recorde's "The Castle of Knowledge", Marcellus Palingenius Stellatus' "The Zodiake of Life", Thomas Digges' "A Perfect Description of the Celestial Orbs", Giordano Bruno's "The Ash Wednesday Supper", and Galileo Galilei's "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems". NO RESERVE!!! TERMS: Shipping charges are calculated based on the total packed weight of this item. New York State residents will be assessed and charged the relevant sales tax. Postage on foreign orders will be assessed and billed at full value. You may request Express Mail or Air Mail service at additional charge. All items are guaranteed authentic and as described. PLEASE E-MAIL FOR EXACT EXPRESS MAIL OR FOREIGN SHIPPING CHARGES! We accept American Express, Discover, Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. Be sure to add me to your favorites list! Check out my other items! Place a Bid!