CARDANO (Girolamo). Metoposcopia libris tredecim, et octigen - Lot 75

CARDANO (Girolamo). Metoposcopia libris tredecim, et octigentis faciei humanae eiconibus complexa... Lutetiæ Parisiorum, apud T. Jolly, 1658. In-folio, [4] f., VIII-225 p., [1] f., full vellum, six-ribbed spine, black speckled edges, small restoration to binding. Latin edition of this work describing metoposcopy, a strange form of divination that appeared in the 17th century and was pioneered by the astrologer Jerome Cardan; it is a divinatory technique that aims to determine a subject's personality and predict his future by examining his forehead. The illustration features 794 woodcut faces in the text. Provenance: handwritten inscription "Ipse lib adv. l'archevêque 1717 . 15 august. Empt 2 3".