Notizie dei professori del disegno da Cimabue in qua per le quali si dimostra come, e per chi le belle arti di pittura, scultura e architettura, lasciata la rozzezza delle maniere greca e gottica, si siano in questi secoli ridotte all'antica loro perfezione, opera di Filippo Baldinucci  fiorentino distinta in secoli, e decennali, in Florence, for Santi Franchi,  [16], 68, [4]

Filippo Baldinucci was appointed by Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici (Florence 1617 - Florence 1675) to reorganize his vast collection of drawings which would later form the basis of the current collection at the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Uffizi and the collection of artist self-portraits in the Gallery of the Statues and Paintings of the Uffizi. Baldinucci combined his reorganization of the Cardinal's collection with a study of the artists themselves, publishing a history of Italian art that became as well regarded as Vasari’s The Lives. The work wasn't completed until 1728 and extended across six volumes: the first three were penned by Filippo Baldinucci himself while the final three were written by his son, Francesco Saverio.

The inscription in pen indicates that this first edition was given as “a gift from the author”, presumably to Grand Duke Cosimo III to whom the first dedication is directed.  This example later became part of the collection at the library of the Jesuits’ College in Florence, as evidenced by the other handwritten notes inside the book itself.