Catalogo della Libreria di Alessandro Rivani, Donata all Societa Colombaria Col Ritratto di esso Donatore

Firenze: Dalla Tipografia di Luigi Pezzati, 1836. 8vo. 230 x 150 mm. (9 1/2 x 6 inches). Portrait of Rivani by Niccolò Palmerini. vi, 159 pp. Disbound. Portrait lightly foxed with offset to title-page. First edition. Interesting private library of printed books, maps and manuscripts donated to the Società Colombaria, founded in 1735. The catalogue is a good example of a collection that reflects the mission of the institution. The Colombaria was formed to encourage scholarship that revived the old methods of research that reflected empirical observation in both the sciences and history. Rivani's collection focused on philology, literary criticism, mathematics and natural history, philosophy, history, law, economics and the social sciences. Most of the books are from the second half of the 18th century and early 19th century and the catalogue is an excellent example of the transition in collecting from classical works to the modern scholarly texts. (68). (Inventory #: 68)