4to, ff. 28; 635, (1 white); (mm 210x160), cc. 28 including the tables of the chapters and colophon, finely engraved copper chalcographic frontispiece with a beautiful scene of a violinist playing to the animals rushing to the music and architectural frieze with hunting symbols at the bottom a vignette depicting cernummus (“he who has the top of his skull like a deer”) was the zoomorphic divinity most important of the celtic pantheon, lord of animals, ally and protector of valiant men. The deer evoked longevity and abundance. It was reproduced on the apotropaic talismans in bone and horns worn in battle and during jokes. Signed in the lower plate n. Perrey. 21 magnificent full-page plates printed in text and out of text (8 of which are duplicated). Full coeval rigid parchment readapted with handwritten title on the spine. Second edition, enlarged. The series of plates (attributable to nicolas perrey, who signs the title), depicting chase and capture scenes with animals of all kinds, birds, fish, lions and elephants, has a completely new layout and replaces the 7 woodcut illustrations of the first edition of 1621. The engravings were reused in 1630, even if the plate. Pruning and plowing (p. 471) will be omitted in the next edition. In addition to the expansion of the first four books, the second edition is accompanied for the first time by a fifth book “of the villa and its pleasures”, on the management of agricultural estates. The first book deals with dogs and horses, diseases and therapies; the second of the hunts for deer, wild boar, fox, wolf, bear, elephant, lion, tiger, leocorn, pardo, camel and dromedary; the third book deals with the hunting of the swan, the peacock, pheasants, quail, blackbird, owl, .. Birds in general; the fourth of the fish. The copies appear to exist in three states: with a four-page dedication to prince maurice of savoy, dated may 20; with a two-page dedication to fabrizio caraffa, duke of andria; and with neither of them. Westwood & satchell note that ‘in some copies the title-page is undated and the last page blank’: this is most likely the case in all copies, the comment perhaps arising from difficulty finding the imprint (located beneath the imprimatur on the last preliminary leaf) Ceresoli 441; Re III 273; Lastri 103; Gamba 2061; Choix 208; B. IN. G. 1596; Brunet IV 1090: “assez recerchè”. Westwood & Satchell note that ‘in some copies the title-page is undated and the last page blank’: this is most likely the case in all copies, the comment perhaps arising from difficulty finding the imprint (located beneath the imprimatur on the last preliminary leaf).