Mydorge, Claude & Giordano, Vitale: Conical Elements or the First Book of Catoptrics. Rome Tip. Komarek 1685. Unique Copy

Canonical Elements or the first book of catoptrici by Claudio Midorsi restored by Vitale Giordano Bitontino. In Rome, Tip. Komarek 1685. Format in-4°, pp. 96. (marked A4-M4). Later half-parchment binding with boards covered in decorated paper. Copy without Title Page, pages 17 to 24 and 27 to 30 are missing and have been replaced with copies of an ancient hand that contain text and some handwritten drawings in ink, the text ends on page 96, which concludes the first part of the work which included a second.
Good condition of text with rare and slight foxing.

The copy offered here is similar if not identical to the description by Riccardi (1828-1898) who in his "Biblioteca di matematica italiana" (Reprint, Milan 1952), under the heading Giordano Vitale describes the work in these terms "the copy I possess lacks a frontispiece... in folio... from which (pages) 17-24 and 27-30... are diligently copied by hand with the respective figures...". Like the present copy which has no frontispiece and the pages are contemporary manuscripts (late 17th century) it corresponds in every detail (pagination, text, figures and drawings). A unique copy, known only by name and certainly not for its content, neither by studies on the history of mathematics nor by more specialized studies on Vitale Giordano and Midorsi (Claude Midorge 1585-1647).