La Monacologia ossia descrizione metodica de frati

Cagliari: Efisio Firanu, 1848. Original printed wrappers. Some minor foxing, otherwise fine. A whimsical satire on monastic life, written as a Linnaean classification. First published in Latin in 1783, the text is comprised of entries for twelve holy orders, with a physical description, differences between male and female species (monks and nuns), habitat, diet, and purpose (for example, “Too fat for use, born only to eat and drink”). An epigraph written by Linnaeus about insects and adapted to the present work opens the book.

Published anonymously for obvious reasons, this title is attributed to Austrian mineralogist and metallurgist Ignatius von Born, who is best remembered for his catalog of fossils and minerals in the Raab collection.