Aldrovandi (Ulisse) Quadrupedum omniu[m] Bisulcoru[m] Historia, second edition, engraved title, woodcut illustrations, scattered spotting, ex-Bologna with occasional ink-stamps, previous owner's small ink signature to front free endpaper, contemporary vellum, yapped edges, title in manuscript to spine, rubbed, remnants of small paper label to lower cover, [Nissen ZBI 76; Graesse I, 65], folio, Gian Battista Ferroni for Marco Antonia Bernia, 1641.

⁂ Second edition of a ground-breaking investigation into hoofed (ungulate) quadrupeds, first published in 1621. Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605) is regarded as the father of modern natural history due to his pivotal contribution to zoology, botany and geology. An erudite scholar of wide-ranging interests, he was the first professor of natural science at Bologna University. There, he established a renowned botanical garden and gathered a steady amount of specimens and detailed drawings of faunal and floral rarities in his private museum. Everything was later bequeathed to the City Senate. The majority of his extensive essays were published posthumously by his pupils with the support of the Bolognese Commune.