Bianchini (Francesco) Hesperi et Phosphori, first edition, title in red and black, with engraved vignette, engraved frontispiece, engraved head-piece, 2 initials and 2 embedded vignettes, one embedded mezzotint vignette, 10 plates, of which one mezzotint the others engraved (2 folding, one double-page), some foxing and light browning, including to some plates, contemporary vellum, spine worn with small section restored, [Honeyman 323; Graesse I, 437; Riccardi I, 132.15], folio, Rome, Giovanni Maria Salvioni, 1728.

⁂ The first book of telescopic observations of the planet Venus. Bianchini (1662-1729) sought to determine the rotational period of Venus and to draw a map of its surface. Although his results on the rotation proved incorrect, his topographical observations were a pioneering effort in investigating the planet, identifying 'continents' and 'oceans'. The text is also significant in the history of lunar cartography, notably for the mezzotint views of the crater Plato and the Alpine Valley, which Bianchini was the first to chart, cutting through the mountain range of the Alps; this phenomenon was uncharted by the great Cassini lunar map (1670s). Bianchini's book is perhaps best known today for two often reproduced plates of aerial telescopes, of extremely long focal length, with lenses by Campani.