Michele Rosa, 1786

ROSA, Michele (1731-1812). Delle porpore e delle materie vestiarie presso gli antichi: dissertazione epistolare. Modena: Stamperia Ducale, 1786.

Rare and unpressed, first edition of a treatise of Tyrian purple dye and the murex snails who gave their lives for it. Tyrian purple was famously prized in antiquity for its rich hue and colorfastness. As early as 1500 BCE, the Phoenicians (whose name is synonymous in Greek with "purple") produced it from the mucus of the murex sea snail, and its use as a luxury product solidified purple as the color of royalty in the public imagination. Rosa, who was a professor of chemistry at Modena, also examines various animal, vegetable, and mineral dyes used in ancient textiles, and includes a detailed bibliography. The engraved plate illustrating 12 shells is by Francesco Rosaspina. Hirsch IV 875; Biblotheca Tinctoria 898

Quarto (235 x 180mm). Vignette on title, large folding engraved plate (a few neatly repaired wormholes in margin of first gathering). Contemporary carta rustica.