|||
Working on what I hope will in a few months be the greatest and easiest-to-use catalog of digitized books on astrology I noticed two title pages:
Albubather. De nativitatibus. Venezia, Alovisius de Sancta Lucia, 1 June 1492 D➤
and …
Giovanni Battista Abioso. Dialogus in astrologiae defensionem cum vaticinio a diluvio ad annos 1702. Venezia, Franciscus Lapicida, 20 October 1494 D➤
Both were published in Venice, two years apart. It would be interesting to find out what the relationship might have been between the two publishers. The central woodcut is the same. The oldest has lettering added - movable type - above the naked woman and the astrologer: urania musa celestis and ptolemaeus astronomorum princeps - the heavenly muse, and the king of the astronomers. The woman in the middle is named Astronomia in the first version, Astrologia in the second. Above the first, we see three wise men and the zodiac signs. The black border around the image is a separate piece of wood.
After writing the above another woodcut turned up. In this version Ptolemy is raised to the throne and Astronomy has moved to the left and lost her clothes.
Albubather. De nativitatibus. Venezia, Alovisius de Sancta Lucia, 1 June 1492 D➤
