Swan prints, a pair of Italian Renaissance woodblock prints by Aldrovandi, Ulisse - 1599

Bologna, Italy: Typis Nicolai Tebaldini, 1599. Very good condition. Handsome folio sized Italian Renaissance woodblock prints of swans in profile from a work by Ulisse Aldrovandi, considered by Carl Linnaeus and the Comte de Buffon to be the father of the study of natural history. The first titled, "Cycnus adulatus cum iunco levi", depicting a very bold swan standing on one foot on a rock in a pond; the second "Cycnus etiamnum pullus, Ferraria missus", depicting a swan in profile facing to the right, standing on a small log at the edge of a pond. Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522 - 1605), was the noted Renaissance naturalist recognized for his systematic and accurate observations of animals, plants, and minerals. Aldrovandi was also the founder of the University of Bologna Botanical Gardens, one of the oldest in Italy. Plates 8 & 9, text printed on verso of each. From 'Ornithologiae hoc est De auibus historiae..' OCLC: 889430533.