Francofurti [Frankfurt am Main], Hermann à Sande, 1668. 12mo (14.5 x 8.8 cm). Title page with woodcut vignette, [3]-79, [v] pp.; four larger, folded engraved plates. 20th century full vellum.

Second edition (first: 1638, under a different title), of this rare work on the hyena, with some emphasis on its peculiar smell and the reason behind this. For comparison, one chapter deals with other "smelly mammals",such as the musk deer (also illustrated). The author - the surgeon, chemist and botanist Pietro Castelli (ca. 1574-1662) - was a professor at the universities of Messina and Rome. Uncut and unmarked copy. Faint dampstain to lower margin, small spot to the top edge of a few leaves, otherwise a very good, clean copy. Nissen ZBI, 835.