Vicencio Juan de Lastanosa (1607-1681) was
a Spanish erudite and collector who gathered some 1500 rare books and
manuscripts in his palace in Huesca. Athanasius Kircher and two secretaries of
the King of France were among his correspondents. About 40 per cent of the
books in the library were printed abroad; most of the items dated from the 16th
to the 17th centuries. Lastanosa also gathered a huge coin
collection from many historical periods (over 10000 old coins); he collected
paintings - Caravaggio, Tiziano, Tintoretto, Ribera - engravings, maps,
telescopes and microscopes, antiques and swords; his cabinet of curiosities
included fossils, sculptures, cameos, medals and gemstones. Painters and
writers (Baltasar Gracián, abbess Ana Francisca Abarca de Bolea) met in his
literary circle.
Next to the palace, there were five
gardens, a hedge maze, a pond, and many species of trees, plants and flowers. The
collections of Lastanosa were dispersed after his death; the catalogue of the
library is kept in the National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket, ms.
U-379); two other documents have been preserved (1). Lastanosa was buried in a
crypt of the Catedral of Huesca. Unfortunately, the palace was demolished in
1894.
Further information in this website (Spanish):
http://www.lastanosa.com/contenido.php?gama=1&tipocontenido=137&tipo=1&elemento=33
Some rare books in Lastanosa’s library:
Scientific Works:
Camillo Leonardo, Speculum lapidum, Venecia, 1502.
De Peces, Aves y Animales (On Fish, Birds and Animals), by Conrado Gesnero, 3 vols., Tiguri, 1558.
A work on Mineralogy by Juan de Arfe Villafañe, El quilatador, Madrid, 1558.
A book on Veterinary Medicine by Pedro López de Zamora, Pamplona, 1571.
Juan Baptista Nazari, De la transmutación metálica, Brescia, 1599.
Joannis Remelini, Catoptrum microcosmicum, Aug. Vindelic. 1619.
Museum hermeticum, Francofurti, 1625.
Juan Terrentio Linceo, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae, Roma, 1628.
Vicentio Moles, Philosophia naturalis sacrosancti corporis Christi, Antuerpia, 1639.
Hadriano Minsicht, Tesaurus et armentarium medicum chimicum, Lyon, 1640.
Other Works
On Horse Training: Pedro de la Nove, Lyon, 1621.
Thainot, Orchesographia, Lengres, s. d.
Fabricio Caroso, Ballarino, Venecia, 1581.
A work on prestidigitation and hand tricks, the Eutropelia by Juan Bautista de Moya, S. l. s. d.
Del Juego de los Naipes (Playing Card Games), José Paulo de Bevagna, Roma 1627.
Del Juego de las Damas (On Draughts), Juan García Canalejas, Zaragoza 1650
On Hunting: De Montería, Gonzalo Argote de Molina, Sevilla, 1582.
On Falconry: Juan de Franchieres, Fauconeria, París 1585.
On cage birds: Juan Bautista Xamarro, Conocimiento de las diez aves menores de jaula, Madrid 1604.
Martín de Andujar, Del arte de los sastres (The Art of Tailorship), Madrid, 1640.
Respublica sive status Regni Scotiae et Hiberniae divers. auctorum.
S. l. s. d.
Thomae Smithi Angli, De respublica Anglorum lib. 3. Belgii confederati respublica seu Gelriae, Holland., Zeland., Traiect, Tris., Transisal, Groning. Chorografica descriptio. S. l. s. d.
Russia seu Moscovia itemque Tartaria comentario topographico atque politico illustratae.
S. l. s. d.
Arabia seu Arabum vicinarumque gentium orientalium leges, ritus sacri et profani mores, instituta et historia.
S. l. s. d.
De imperio magni mogolis sive India vera comentarius e variis autoribus congestus.
S. l. s. d.
(1) Las tres Cosas más singulares que tiene la Casa de Lastanosa en
este año de 1639, and Narración
de lo que le pasó a Don Vicente Juan de Lastanosa a 15 de octubre del año 1662
con un Religioso docto y grabe.
