Some Scientific Books (16th-17th Centuries) in the “Inventory” of the Library of the Viscounts of Balsemão

Abstract

Following a short biographical itinerary of Luís Pinto de Sousa Coutinho (1735-1804), 1st Viscount of Balsemão, we refer to the Library of which he was the prime founder and the main vicissitudes affecting this remarkable aristocratic library. Drawing from a handwritten inventory, still hardly known or studied, we highlight the main features of the Library of the Viscounts of Balsemão, as well as some its scientific books (dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries), currently under the custody of the Oporto Municipal Public Library.