Brunet, III, 1401-1402. Grässe, IV, 384. Cockle 798. Marini, L. Notizie della vite e delle opere del capitan Francesco de' Marchi, p. 4-6. (In: Marchi, F. de'. Architettura militare. Roma, 1810. v. 1).

Text printed on verso of plates.

Paging irregular: p. 1-44 [i.e. 88] numbered on recto only, 27 other pages of text unnumbered; 37 pages and last leaf blank.

First edition of the text.

Illustrations: 161 large engravings, many double, after the author's designs (chiefly plans of fortifications but including a few ships, buildings, etc.). All are in book 3 and are consecutively numbered. Most have Italian legends, the author's name and the statement "Author habet commentum" which may indicate that at some time plates were issued individually without text.--cf. A Zeno's annotations to G. Fontanini's Biblioteca dell' eloquenza italiana, Venezia, 1753, v. 2, p. 396-398. Pl. i bears the statement that the work was begun at Rome in August 1546. Since Marchi says in the preface to book 3 that the major part of his work was complete by 1545 and was already being plagiarized, the statement on the plate would seem to refer to the work of engraving the plates. Many of these Italian plates were issued as a textles collection in 1597 by the present publisher. In 1567 a set of copperplates for Marchi's work was made by Cornelis de Hooghe and Hieronymus Cock at the expense of King Philip II of Spain under whose patronage Marchi expected his work to be published.--cf p. 204 and Archives des arts, sciences et lettres; documents inédits publiés et annotés par Alexandre Pinchart. Gand, 1860-81, ser. 1, v. 1, p. 141, 148-149. Apparently these Flemish copperplates were never published.

Avery Classics copy: pl. xii and ix have two versions each, no pls. xiii, xiv, xx is numbered LIBQUARTO CAP xxvi, pl. lxxxx is printed on verso of 146-147 and follows pls. lxxxxi and lxxxxii; pls. cxxvi, cxxx, and clviii are in duplicate; pls. cxxviii, cxxxi, and clix are lacking.

Avery Classics copy: Hinged throughout.

Avery Classics copy: Bound in brown leather, gilt.

Avery Classics copy: With ink stamp of "Bibl. Coll. SS. Pauli et Barnabae Mediolani" on title page.

Avery Classics copy: Printing erasure of legend on most plates.

Avery Classics copy: With engraved portrait of author pasted in opposite t.p.

Avery Classics copy: With ink stamp of "Bibl. Coll. SS. Pauli et Barnabae Mediolani" on title-page.

Avery Classics copy: With engraved portrait of author pasted in opposite t-p.