Geometria Prattica Tratta Dagl’ Elementi d’ Euclide et altri Auttori da Giovanni Pomodoro Venetiano Mathematico eccellentissimo descritta eT Dichiarata da Giovanni Scala Matematico.

Illustrated with engraved title within a scrollwork border with the coat of arms of the dedicatee, Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandino; plus 51 plates of diagrams and illustrations of measurement, of which 44 are by Pomodoro and 7 by Giovanni Scala; plus historiated initials, vignettes and 6 different tailpieces. Folio. Limp reddish-brown 19th century Italian red marbled boards, rebacked. (Rome, Appresso Stefano Paolini, 1599). First edition, first issue, of this finely illustrated manual of Euclidean geometry, with practical applications for surveyors, architects and others. 16th century treatises on surveying and other aspects of 'practical' geometry were almost exclusively written for university men. Pomodoro's was the first work on practical geometry that made a genuine attempt to render the subject accessible to practical men. [Riccardi I, 300; Mortimer, Harvard Italian 394; Honeyman 2512; Macclesfield 1655 (1667 edition). Brusaporci, 'Giovanni Pomodoro (XVI Century),' pp. 201-222 in Distinguished Figures in Descriptive Geometry and Its Applications for Mechanism Science: From the Middle Ages to the 17th Century, 2015.]

The plates illustrate surveying and measuring instruments; followed by a series of Euclidean geometrical diagrams, and then by surveying and measuring problems, including architectural plans and elevations of buildings and streets. Many of the surveying scenes include figures in gentlemanly or military costumes or nude. The first 44 plates were designed by Pomodoro, but he died before the work was complete and the text was provided by Giovanni Scala, who also supplied 7 additional plates.

The treatise begins with the description of the principal instruments for drawing, surveying and military planning: compass; ruler; square ruler; penknife; stiletto (to draw white lines, i.e., without ink); gun compass (to measure the diameter of the mouth of a cannon and of cannonballs); hinged rules with goniometer and magnetic compass; etc. Geometrical definitions and operations useful for solving surveying problems are discussed in Tavolas II-XXX. The solution of measurement problems is based primarily on the use of the Pythagorean Theorem and similar triangles, as presented in Book VI of Euclid's 'Elements.' The remaining Tavolas are devoted to applications, such as: measuring the area of streets, rivers, moats, lakes, woods, and of the bases of trees and mountains; plus the interior and exterior angles of buildings; distance measurement; calculation of heights; etc.
Giovanni Scala's 7 Tavolas deal with the calculation of volumes of solids, especially parts of buildings such as columns, stairs and spires, including recommendations on the construction of foundations and retaining walls. Scala's astronomical interests are apparent in the examples used in his studies of curved lines and their intersections: he cites the Sun's path between the tropics and the intersection of the "Meridian with the Horizon, with the Equinox, with the Tropics, and with the Arctic and Antarctic circles" (Brusaporci, p. 207), as well as the 'twisted' form of comets' tails.

Covers soiled and chipped along edges; interior pages chipped at edges, especially title page, first 3 pages and last few pages; plate X with a 4-inch tear, professionally repaired; some darkening and water staining mostly to margins; o/w an unusual folio edition of this first treatise on Euclidean geometry, profusely illustrated.