Very unusual view with a cut-away to reveal the interior of this famous erupting volcano. The city of Catania is shown in the foreground. This is from Kircher's masterpiece, Subterranean World, an immense and amazing work covering all aspects of anything that dwelled or occurred within the earth's interior - from dragons, to fossils, to mountain springs, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Kircher's work was the first serious effort to describe the physical makeup of the earth, proposing theories (sometimes fantastic) in the areas of physics, geography, geology, and chemistry. It was, in part, based on Kircher's observations of the eruptions of Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius in 1637-38.

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Condition: A

A nice impression on paper with a small coat of arms watermark, a minor printer's crease at bottom center, and narrow top and bottom margins, as issued.