Name/Title
Trattato Completo d'Elettricità Teorica e Pratica con Sperimenti Originali del Signore Tiberio CavalloDescription
CAVALLO, Tiberius. Trattato Completo d'Elettricità Teorica e
Pratica con Sperimenti Originali del Signore Tiberio Cavallo,
Tradotto in Italiano dall'originale Inglese con addizionie e
cangiamenti fatti dall' Autore. Firenze [Florence]: Per Gaetano
Cambiai Stamp. Granducale, 1779. 8vo. First Italian edition of
Cavallo's first book.
From this Italian-born English physicist, the Italian translation
of a work first published in London in 1777 as A Complete Treatise
of Electricity in Theory and Practice; Cavallo includes suggestions
to his translator in his prefatory note, suggesting he was involved
in the translation and revision of the work. (This edition also
includes a new dedication from the translator to the English
Florentine expatriate, George Clavering-Cowper, dated 26 March
1779.)
Includes mention of Franklin (and his lightning rods),
accounts of experiments conducted by Cavallo with Leiden jars and
other apparatuses, and experiments with medical treatment with
electricity. With a folding table of experimental data bound after
page 468, and three folding engravings of various pieces of
electrical equipment bound in the rear. "atmospheric electricity,
which he explored with Franklin kites and with improved detectors
of his own invention. They required a course of self-instruction
that culminated in Cavallo's most important work, A Complete
Treatise on Electricity. An excellent compendium, the Treatise
served the needs of both the neophyte and the initiate, who found
in its appendixes valuable details about medical electricity; about
Beccaria's obscure theories; and about Cavallo's forte, the design
and operation of electrostatic instruments" (DSB). His inventions
were notable for the "ingenuity [that] was shown in their
construction, all his instruments for the measurement of the
quantity and force of electricity being remarkable for their
extreme delicacy and correctness" (DNB)Condition
Overall Condition
GoodDate Examined
Apr 29, 2025Notes
Bound in contemporary decorated paper boards
backed with contrasting block-printed paper and an autograph spine
label, xx, 511, [1] pages, untrimmed. With a folding table and
three folding engravings. Front hinge separated (sewing support
cords are holding); some edge wear and rubbing to the boards, a
good sound copy.Conservation
Conservation Purpose
Damage RepairTreatment
Acute Treatment
Adhesive Repair/RemovalDate(s)
Apr 29, 2025