Vlyssis Aldrovandi

Italian polymath Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605) has been called the father of natural history by such giants in the field as Carl Linnaeus and the Comte de Buffon. A true Renaissance man, he studied law, philosophy, and medicine before being named the University of Bologna’s first Chair of Natural Science in 1561. He founded the University’s botanical garden— one of the first of its kind in Europe— several years later, and included space for his natural history collection, which included animal specimens, minerals, plants, and man-made artifacts. Aldrovandi’s collection was considered to be one of the best and most comprehensive of its day, and formed the core of his eleven-volume natural history series. Unfortunately, he only lived to see the first three volumes published, with this fifth volume, De Piscibus, appearing nearly ten years after his death. Somewhat ironically, although the Smithsonian Libraries holds all but one of his works, this volume, focusing on fishes, is the only one with extensive water damage. The fish may not have minded the moisture, but it’s not ideal for readers!