This is "Della Fisionomia dell'Huomo (Of the Human Physiognomy) " by Giovanni Battista della Porta (1535-1615), in six books, also including "Finsionomia Naturale (Natural Physiognomy)" by Giovanni Ingegneri and "Delle Celeste Fisionomia (Of Heavenly Physiognomy)". All are bound together, with texts in Italian, indices and many illustrative woodcuts and vignettes, probably copied from the Vicenza woodcuts used by Pietro Paolo Tozzi. This edition was published by Cristoforo Tomasini, in 1644 in Venice. 

Della Porta wrote a number of books on topics ranging from cryptography and occultism to alchemy, distillation, and phytotherapy. Physiognomy, or the notion that a person's temperament and character can be deduced from the shape of his or her face or body, was first proposed by Classical Greek philosophers and physicians, and Aristotle wrote about the concept extensively. By the Renaissance, the science of physiognomy had been combined with astrology to become rather complex. He states, for instance, that a man with sheep-like features would have personality characteristics similar to that of a sheep, and goes into great detail about the shape of the brow, the length of the nose, and the breadth of the chin.The numerous woodcut text illustrations draw comparisons between the physical features of men and animals in an attempt to relate their nature. These comparisons still persist in our vocabulary in adjectives such as bovine, ovine, lupine, aquiline, assinine, porcine, etc.

Condition of this book is Very Good, in vellum-covered boards with a gold-stamped leather title label on the spine. The binding may be original, or slightly later. The title page is only a fragment, but has been repaired and is bound in. Otherwise, all pages seem to be included, though one signature is loose. The boards are rather dished. The page block edges are lightly speckled in blue, and the illustrations and vignettes are crisp and clean. Please see photos of the book.