Vulcani e fenomeni vulcanici in Italia.

Milano, 1883 [REPRINT Bologna, Arnaldo Forni, 1981]. Large 8vo. 376 pp., 78 text engravings, 10 plates, three large, folded maps. = A very rare important book on the volcanology of Italy; even this photomechanical reprint is uncommon. The Italian volcanologist Guiseppe Mercalli (1850-1914) here introduced the earthquake scale which was named after him, "He is best remembered today for his Mercalli scale for measuring earthquakes which is still used today. The Mercalli scale, unlike the more famous Richter scale, doesn't measure the actual energy released by an earthquake but how much effect an earthquake had on a given area, making it poorly suited for measuring earthquakes in sparsely populated areas, but ideal for comparing damage done by various tremors. The Mercalli scale, which has been widely used in earthquake engineering, gives a rating from I to XII, where I is felt only by a very few and XII has near total damage, few or no masonry structures remain standing, and objects are thrown into the air" (Wikipedia). Mercalli died under very mysterious circumstances, and some believe that he was murdered. A nice reprint, even with the folded maps thruthfully reprinted. A near mint copy.