TORRE Gio. Maria della Storia e fenomeni del Vesuvio.

Poggendorff, II, 1118; cf. Hoover, 792-93.

First edition of this beautifully illustrated study, featuring nine fold-out plates, on the volcanic activity of Vesuvius by the Italian naturalist and philosopher Della Torre.

His monograph is the result of more than twenty years of field observations and studies published by numerous international scientists such as Nollet, Lalande, Ferber, etc., who regularly climbed Vesuvius with Della Torre as their guide.

Here, the author not only presents an analysis of eruptive materials and the mechanics of eruptions but also defines, perhaps explicitly for the first time, the history of a volcano not merely as a sequence of external phenomena but also as an internal construction process facilitated by such phenomena.

Giovanni Maria Della Torre began by teaching philosophy and mathematics in various Italian cities, particularly in Venice, before becoming librarian to the King of Sicily.

The superb illustrations are by Giuseppe Aloja and show views of Vesuvius from different angles as the lava advances.

Some occasional foxing, else a fine and broad margined copy.