Physica Curiosa, sive Mirabilia Naturæ et Artis
LIBRIS XII. COMPREHENSA,
Quibus pleraq;, quæ de Angelis, Dæmonibus, Hominibus,
Spectris, Energumenis, Monstris, Portentis, Animalibus, Meteoris, &c.
rara, arcana, curiosaq; circumferuntur, ad Veritatis trutinam expenduntur, Variis ex Historia ac Philosophia petitis disquisitionibus excutiuntur, & innumeris exemplis illustrantur.
HERBIPOLI, Sumptibus JOHANNIS ANDREÆ ENDTERI & WOLFF-GANGI Jun. Hæredum.
Excudebat JOBUS HERTZ Typographus Herbipol. Anno M. DC. LXII.
Prostant Norimbergæ apud dictos Endteros.
"The wonders of nature and art, comprised in 12 books, in which most of the rare, secret and curious things reported of Angels, Demons, Men, Spectres, the Possessed, Monsters, Portents, Animals, Meteors, etc., are weighed on the scales of Truth."
Nuremberg. 1662
4to, 220 x 175 mm (2 volumes in 1). [4] ff., 28 ff. (a4–g4), 770 pp., [1] f., 814 pp., [12] ff., 57 plates, 3 of them folding. Complete. Blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards. Spine with four raised bands, title and date in manuscript. Blind-tooled floral borders on both covers. Clasps.
Gaspar Schott (Gasparis Schotti) was a German Jesuit (1608–1666), a learned mathematician, physicist and theologian, first assistant to and then successor of Athanasius Kircher at the University of Würzburg in Franconia (present-day Bavaria) (1).
In 1631, in the wake of the Thirty Years' War, he fled Germany, settling first in Tournai in Belgium and then in Palermo, Sicily, where he completed his studies in philosophy, theology and mathematics. In 1652 he joined his mentor Athanasius Kircher in Rome, with whom he had remained in contact.
In 1657 he published his first work, the Mechanica Hydraulico-Pneumatica, which met with great success. During the final years of his life he devoted himself chiefly to publishing the immense body of material accumulated over his years of research. Between 1658 and 1666 he wrote eleven works, among them the Physica Curiosa.
Printed by the master printer Johann Hertz, and produced and distributed by Johann Andreas Endter and Wolfgang the Younger, of the powerful Nuremberg dynasty of printer-publishers, the Physica Curiosa takes the form of an encyclopaedia of curiosities.
Arranged in 12 books, it is a curious blend of theological and scientific learning and the marvellous. The 57 plates depict imaginary animals, chimeras, monsters and exotic beasts:
I. The Wonders of Angels and Demons.
A study of angelic and demonic manifestations, combining theology, accounts of possession and critical analysis of testimony.
II. The Wonders of Spectres.
Hauntings and apparitions, approached through folk tales and judicial records.
III. The Wonders of Men.
A catalogue of human singularities: giants, dwarfs, hermaphrodites, and individuals with exceptional physical abilities.
IV. The Wonders of Energumens (the Possessed).
An analysis of cases of demonic possession, with particular attention to physical symptoms (convulsions, glossolalia) and methods of exorcism.
V. The Wonders of Monsters.
Descriptions of hybrid or deformed creatures (two-headed animals, malformed children), illustrated with copper engravings.
VI. The Wonders of Prodigies (or Portents).
Unexplained celestial and terrestrial phenomena: rains of blood, comets, monstrous births.
VII. The Wonders of Animals in General.
An introduction to rare or exotic species, often accompanied by plates.
VIII. The Wonders of Land Animals.
A subdivision of Book VII, devoted to quadrupeds and reptiles.
IX. The Wonders of Flying Animals (Birds).
A study of birds, including mythical species (the phoenix) and exotic ones (parrots, ostriches).
X. The Wonders of Aquatic Animals.
Descriptions of fish, cetaceans and sea creatures, with particular attention to the monsters of the medieval bestiaries (sirens, sea dragons).
XI. The Wonders of Meteors.
Atmospheric phenomena: auroras, lightning, rainbows, and rains of stones.
XII. Miscellaneous Wonders (or Miscellanea).
A synthesis of the preceding themes, with new observations and borderline cases. This book also includes mirabilia artis: mechanical inventions, automata and optical illusions.
Provenance on the title page: "Bibliothecæ Ducumburgensis", denoting the library of Herzogenburg Abbey (Stift Herzogenburg), a distinguished monastery of Augustinian Canons Regular in Lower Austria.
Caillet III, 10004: Nissen ZBI 3746, Brunet V, col. 219-220.
Condition: The book opens beautifully. Original clasps are intact but no longer close. The ink has oxidized on the pages, creating a distinctive background beneath the text (this oxidation is also visible in digitized copies online and is certainly due to the ink used by Hertz); there are a few faint damp stains.
(1) The eminent academics appointed as professors at the University of Würzburg https://web.archive.org/web/20210608090436/https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/uniarchiv/personalities/eminent-scholars/
(2) Dietrich Unverzagt Philosophia, Historia, Technica- Caspar Schotts Magia universalis. http://www.kalteis.de/Digitaltechnik/Geschichte_der_Rechenmaschinen/Caspar_Schott.pdf
(3) La fiche wikipedia de Schott : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaspar_Schott
