PORTA Giovanni Battista della Magiae Naturalis libri viginti.

Ferguson II, 216; Wellcome, 5185; NLM, 3928; Dorbon, 3728; Duveen, 481 (ed. 1651); Caillet, 8851 (for later editions).

Porta wrote this famous work on the secrets of nature at the age of 15. The first edition in five books, published in 1558, was enlarged to twenty books in 1589, and was a great success.

The work contains a wealth of information on natural history, medicinal and cosmetic preparations, optics – Porta was the first to describe the camera obscura – and alchemy: De metallorum transmutatione, De Distillationibus.

Book IX (pp. 362-396) is entitled De Mulierum Cosmetica and contains beauty advice on how to remedy pillosity, how to dye hair, how to produce eye make-up (Ad tingenda supercilia), how to change eye colour (Occulorum colorem permutare), how to make skin fairer (Facies ut lac albescat), how to remove blemishes (Ad tollendum maculas ab ore), how to restore virginity (Ut deflorata mulier integrae virginitati retituatur), and many more.

Illustrated with woodcut figures in the text depicting furnaces and retorts. Good copy, small stain to lower outer corner at beginning. 

Unidentified rubber stamp on title with monogramm ‘AC’, bookplate Dr. Maurice Villaret.