Description Giorgio Gallesio’s principle occupation was as a lawyer and civil servant, but he made a major contribution to the field of botany with his illustrated Pomona Italiana, a treatise on fruit trees grown in Italy, which included 160 plates published in 41 parts between 1817 and 1839, the year Gallesio died. The fruits included figs, pears, grapes, peaches, apples, cherries, apricots and some more exotic fruits. Oranges and lemons were omitted because Gallesio had already published Traité du Citrus, a treatise on citrus fruits. Gallesio conducted experiments in his fruit garden in Savona that were cited by Charles Darwin to illustrate the development of varieties. Full publication information: Albicocca Alessandrina a Mandorla Amara Disegnata dal vero da Domenico Del Pino in Genova. Incisa in Firenze da Tom: Nasi. Pesca Duracina Bianca Tardiva o Biancona di Verona Dom’o Del Pino disegnò in Finale nel 7bre: 1822. Aless. Contardi inc. in Livorno. Pesca Mela Ant: Serantoni dis: Stef: Rinaldi inc: Pesca Spiccagnola gialla Isabella Bozzolini dipinse in Firenze. Tom: Nasi incise. Pesca Vagaloggia Duracina SOLD: Pera Campana Ant. Serantoni disegno. Stef’o Rinaldi incise. SOLD: Pesca damaschina duracina Domenico Del Pino disegno in Finale 1826. Giuseppe Pera incise in Firenze 1829. Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning, handling, and wear. Some glare in our online photographs is from gum Arabic highlights, which does not show in regular light; rather which enhances the richness of the color. References: Dunthorne, Gordon. Flower and Fruit Prints of the 18th and Early 19th Centuries. Their History, Makers and Uses, with a Catalogue Raisonne of the Works in Which They are Found. Washington, D.C.: Published by the Author, 1938. 118. Raphael, Sandra. An Oak Spring Pomona. A Selection of the Rare Books on Fruit in the Oak Spring Garden Library. Upperville, VA: Oak Spring Garden Library; New Haven: Distributed by Yale University Press, 1990. 52. “Sale 1169, Lot 41.” Christie’s. 18 December 2002. http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/gallesio-giorgio-pomona-italiana-ossia-trattat-4039633-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=4039633&sid=3fb41393-53c7-453a-93f9-e62e9bbab717 (19 January 2018). Sitwell, Sacheverell. Great Flower Books, 1700-1900. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1990. p. 57.
