Collection of the Society of Jesus, Munich. original: "Coll. Soc. Jesu. Monachii." This inscription indicates that the book was formerly part of the library at the Jesuit College in Munich, a major center of learning during the Counter-Reformation.

Top decorative woodcut: A central oval printer's device for Christophe Plantin, showing a hand emerging from a cloud holding a compass, surrounded by the motto "BY LABOR AND CONSTANCY" original: "LABORE ET CONSTANTIA". The emblem is flanked by two reclining sirens or mermaids with ornate foliate tails.

ON NATURAL MAGIC,

original: "SIVE" ## CONCERNING THE WONDERS ## OF NATURAL THINGS, ### IN FOUR BOOKS.

BY GIOVANNI BATTISTA

DELLA PORTA OF NAPLES,

AUTHOR. Giambattista della Porta (1535–1615) was an Italian polymath. This work, "Magia Naturalis," was his most famous, exploring everything from optics and botany to alchemy and cryptography. To Porta, "natural magic" was the peak of natural philosophy—the study of the hidden forces of nature through observation and experiment, rather than supernatural sorcery.

Side borders: Two symmetrical vertical woodcuts featuring caryatids with female torsos supporting baskets of fruit on their heads. They stand atop architectural pedestals draped with fruit and flowers. At the base of each pedestal is a large, grotesque mask with a wide, gaping mouth.

R Likely an archival or inventory mark from the library.

ANTWERP,

FROM THE WORKSHOP OF CHRISTOPHE

PLANTIN:

Christophe Plantin was one of the most influential printers of the Renaissance; his press in Antwerp was known for its high-quality scholarly and scientific publications.

1560.

WITH THE KING'S PRIVILEGE.

original: "PRIVILEGIO REGIS." A "privilege" was a legal protection granted by the sovereign (in this case, King Philip II of Spain) giving the printer exclusive rights to publish the work for a set number of years, acting as an early form of copyright.

Bottom decorative woodcut: A central vignette depicting a seated woman (possibly representing Charity or Abundance) surrounded by four young children. The scene is framed by an ornate cartouche topped with a lion's head and draped with heavy garlands of fruit.

44 A handwritten shelf-mark or page number added by a later collector or librarian.