Phytognomonica (1588) - Page 6

⚠The page is heavily stained, foxed, and exhibits significant ink bleed-through from the verso, which obscures some areas and creates ghost text. The handwritten inscription at the top is extremely faded and difficult to decipher.

[Handwritten inscription in 16th or 17th-century cursive across the top margin, likely a note regarding the book's ownership or a gift.] ?

A copperplate engraving depicts a man in his late fifties shown in a right-side profile. He has a high, balding forehead, short-cropped hair, a prominent nose, and a full, trimmed beard. He wears a high, starched pleated ruff collar and a heavy, dark robe with a thick fur lining. The portrait is contained within an oval frame featuring an architectural border with scrollwork at the top and sides. At the bottom of the oval is a small, scrolled banner containing text.

IN HIS 58th YEAR original: "AN. ÆT. LVIII," an abbreviation for "Anno Aetatis Suae 58."

Girolamo Fabrizio of Acquapendente original: "Hieronymus Fabricius ab Aquapendente." A pioneering anatomist and surgeon who was a teacher of William Harvey.