Francisci Marii Grapaldi Parmensis De Partibus Aedium, Lexicon utilisimum. Grapaldina. [...]. Basel: Valderiana, 1541, large 8vo.
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Franciscus Grapaldus’ De Partibus Aedium, first published in 1494, and here in an early edition from 1541 in a fantastic contemporary blindstamped vellum fine binding, is a remarkable Renaissance encyclopaedic lexicon which discusses the structure, organisation, and contents of a grand house. Rather than focusing on construction techniques, Grapaldus provides a thematic dictionary of domestic spaces, offering a cultural and practical guide to the ideal Renaissance household.
The work mentions various rooms such as the cellar, garden, stables, baths, dining room, kitchen, library, armaments room, granary, nursery, and aviary, describing their functions and associated terminology. It also extends into broader topics, elucidating terms related to architecture, gardening, and the domestic arts. One of the most famous sections, Bibliotheca (Book II, Chapter 9), includes an early and significant description of the papermaking process, one of the earliest in print.
WorldCat records just 18 copies of this edition held institutionally worldwide (across three entries), and it is very rare in commerce.
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Size: 143 x 232 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[fo.1-16, a¹-z⁴, aa¹-mm⁴, nn⁵, (2)]
Contemporary blindstamped vellum over wooden boards retaining both original clasps. The binding has some discolouration and staining but remains very attractive indeed. Bookplate attached to front pastedown from a private Swiss collection. Waterstaining to both pastedowns, and intermittently throughout the text block in the margins, never extending into the text itself, but covering printed marginalia to some leaves, not obscuring any legibility, largely clean throughout, particularly to the first half of the text. Stain visible on fore edge. This copy is free from any manuscript marginalia etc, and is internally exceptionally clean aside from the marginal staining.
[Cicognara 522; Fowler 149; OCLC 1066407883, 1349621684, 1402641524].
