PEURBACH, Georg von "Le nuove Teoriche dei Pianeti" [Apresso Giovan Battista, 1566]

PEURBACH, Georg von. Le nuove Teoriche dei Pianeti.

Venetia: Apresso Giovan Battista, 1566. First Italian edition. 5.75" x 3.75" (approx. 145 × 95 mm). 132pp. With 47 woodcut diagrams, including two printed together on a single page. Later half cloth binding with blue trimmed edges, solid and secure. Textblock with scattered foxing but generally clean. Very Good-.

The first appearance of Peuerbach’s Theoricae Novae Planetarum in Italian, a landmark in the popular transmission of Renaissance astronomy. Originally composed in the mid-15th century, Peuerbach’s synthesis replaced medieval scholastic models and became the standard text for teaching astronomy in European universities. Copernicus studied the work, and through Regiomontanus’ edition it directly shaped the observations of Tycho Brahe and the theories of Kepler.

This vernacular translation is considerably rarer than the Latin printings and reflects the growing demand for advanced scientific texts among non-scholarly readers in 16th-century Italy. Its 47 woodcuts—geometrical diagrams illustrating planetary motions, epicycles, and celestial spheres—made it one of the most visually instructive astronomy books of its time.

Surviving copies of the Italian edition seldom appear on the market, and most are found only in institutional collections. A well-preserved example of a foundational text in the history of astronomy, significant both for its role in Renaissance science and for its rarity in the trade.

Georg von Peurbach was also known as Georgius Peurbachius, Georg Aunpekh, and Jorge Purbachio.