Camillo Baldi

Baldi left behind numerous printed and manuscript works covering a wide range of subjects. The best known is his essay on graphology, Trattato Come Da Una Lettera Missiva Si Conoscano La Natura E Qualità Dello Scrittore^[3] which represents the first detailed investigation of the subject. It was first published in 1622 when Baldi was over 70 years old, and Italian editions were also published in 1625,^[4] 1983^[5] and 1992^[6]). There are no published English translations, but it has also appeared in Latin (1664),^[7] French (1900^[8] and 1993^[9]), and Spanish (2016).^[10] It is firmly rooted in the lively tradition of vernacular letter-writing manuals of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in Italy. It is heavily indebted to the classical Greek work De elocutione (On style) attributed to Demetrius Phalereus. Baldi is following Demetrius when he condemns those whose style is too artificial, for, he says such people reveal nothing of themselves, all that one can tell of them is that they are shrewd and artificial. He goes on to say: 'when they are written without artifice or erudition or any consideration at all, but only as his nature dictates to him, then one can probably tell many things about the writer'. Baldi only devotes a few pages (18–21) to considerations of handwriting but it is on this that his fame (such as it is) rests. His interpretations of handwriting are interesting but have little connection to modern theories of graphology. For instance: 'if the writing is both fast, even and well-formed, and appears to have been written with pleasure, it has probably been written by a man who knows nothing and is worthless, because you rarely find intelligent and prudent men who write neatly... these writers are also often cold, avaricious, foolish, intemperate and indiscreet'. On the other hand, he talks of writing that is 'unbecoming, crooked, badly formed and quick, yet legible'. Such writing denotes a mature man who has written a lot. Later he says 'if the handwriting is uneven, with lines that are wavy and generally ascending, such a person is naturally inclined to dominate... with such instability one can also add that he is likely to be choleric and apt to be unrestrained in following his desires'.

• In physiognomica Aristotelis commentarii.^[11] This is a very long commentary on the very short pseudo-Aristotelian work on physiognomy. It is one of Baldi's most widely circulated books with copies in many European libraries.
• Alcune considerationi sopra una lettera d'Anton Perez scritta al duca di Lerma circa al modo di conservarsi in gratia del suo signore^[12]
• Trattato del modo di scriver bene una lettera^[13]
• Delle mentite et offese di parole, come possino accomodarsi.^[14] This work was published several times and is the most widely available of Baldi's Italian works. It is on the subject of duelling and more specifically on how to avoid becoming involved in a duel.
• De naturali ex unguium inspectione praesagio commentarius^[15]
• De humanarum propensionum ex temperamento praenotionibus^[16]
• Congressi civili... ne quali, con precetti morali e politici, si mostra il modo facile d'acquistar e conservar gli amici^[17]
• Alchemia e la sua medicina^[18] - this work was never published but exists in manuscript and was subject of a recent academic article.^[19]