[Microscopy. Bees] Aulus Persius Flaccus. Persio tradotto in verso sciolto e dichiarato

Italian transl. by Francesco Stelluti. Rome, G. Mascardi, 1630, (22),218,(14) pp., engr. title-p., portrait of the author, one plate and 5 ills., later half vellum.

Lacking the last few pp. of the second index; title-p. repaired and with stain bleeding through first few p., outer margin cut sl. short on one or two pp. First edition of this translation by Stelluti (1577-1653), a friend of Galileo. The first book that shows natural objects as seen through a microscope, depicting for example a close up engraving of a weevil and a plate of bees as seen from under a microscope, showing extraordinary detail on the exterior anatomy of the animals.