The title of the book is “Exercitationes Vitruvianae primae”. It was published in the year 1739 and was written in Latin. The title does not reveal in depth what the content is going to be about, but we know that it has something to do with the exercises of Vitruvius the first. There is also no list of contents that could give us more hints about the context or the structure. But the individual chapters are noticeable by the use of ornamented initials. In terms of optics in general, it for sure is not a picture book. But here and there one will find some illustrations that either help understanding the text or that simply seem to decorate the pages. The book itself is big and thick and contains over 350 pages. The reasoning may be: Because the book is about the exercises of Vitruvius, emphasizing the plural, there is probably a large number of different examples. So, it needs enough space to show them all or at least a good and versatile amount. Focusing on the material, the book is made out of handmade sheets. They are glued together and stitched together by hand and bound in a leather cover supplemented by ornamented paper. Because it not being manufactured, the pages thickness differentiates, and the printed letters may be a little uneven. But no two pages are the same, which to me gives the book a special charm. The name of the author of the book is Giovanni Poleni. He lived from the year 1683 until 1761 and was an Italian mathematician and astronomer.