medicine - 19 titles

Author:  Nicetas, physician
Title/Imprint: Chirurgia è Graeco in Latinum conuersa, Vido Vidio Florentino interprete ; cum nonnullis eiusdem Vidij co[m]entarijs ; indicem auctorum & operum sequenti paginâ quaerito. (Surgery)
[36], 533, [3] p. : ill. ; 37 cm. (fol.); Petrus Galterius: Paris , 1544

This work is a collection of classical surgical texts by some of the great names of early medicine. It was prepared by Guido Guidi and is a translation of a 10th-century manuscript prepared by Nicetas and contained all of Galen's commentaries on Hippocrates. Guidi also added his own commentaries on the Hippocratic texts that Galen had not discussed. Translation, by Guido Guidi [i.e. Vidus Vidius], of original Greek ms. written by Nicetas, a Byzantine physician, perhaps at the request of the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (905-959). This ms. contained the most complete collection, up to that time, of Galen's commentaries on the surgical works of Hippocrates. Guidi added his own commentaries upon those parts of Hippocrates' work not covered by Galen.
The illustrations, after the original manuscript, are by Francesco Primaticcio and Jean Santorinos; the woodcut engravings of these illustrations are by, amongst others, Jollat.
At least 2 editions were published by Gaultier in 1544. In one, a woodcut device of François I, to whom the book was dedicated, is found between the last line of the title and the privelege; in the other this area (14 x 8 cm.) is blank. The Dibner Library copy lacks the woodcut device.
Full imprint: [Paris] : Excudebat Petrus Galterius Luceciae [i.e. Lutetiae] Parisiorum, pridie Calendas Maij 1544.
Signatures: 2a8 2b10 a-z8 A-I8 K-L6 (L6 blank; wanting in Dibner Library copy).
Register of signatures: prelim. p. [35]. Blanks: prelim. p. [36] (1st group); p. [2]-[3] (3rd group). Errors in paging: p. 124 and 275 misprinted as 122 and 283, respectively. Errata: p. [1] (3rd group).
The name "André Uytterhoeven" [a former owner] is embossed on the titile page and the front free endpaper of our copy. A manuscript letter in ink ([1] p.), dated May 12, 1863 and addressed to an unidentified "Monsieur le Docteur" [the former owner who commissioned the binding, probably Uytterhoeven?] by the bookbinder J. Schavye of Brussels, is tipped in on the front free endpaper.
Our copy has a mid-19th century binding in blind-tooled leather[?] with raised bands. A gilt-lettered red leather spine label with binder's title reads: Hippocrates Chirurgia, 1544.

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Author:  Aulus Cornelius Celsus
Title/Imprint: De medicina
[392] p. ; 24 cm. (fol. and 4to); A Nicolao: Florence , 1478

Celsus was one of the great Roman authors of the first century AD. He prepared an encyclopedic work of which only this, the medical section, survived. Largely ignored by contemporary medical experts, the work was rediscovered in the 15th century and in 1478 became one of the first medical texts ever printed.
Title from incipit, p. [3]: Cornelii Celsi De medicina liber.
Imprint from colophon, p. [376]: Florentiae : A Nicolao impressus, 1478.
Editio princeps.
Edited by B. Fontius in collaboration with F. Saxettus.
Signatures: pi6 a4 b-i6 l-z6 &6 2a-2g6 2h4 A8 ; leaves 2h1 and 2h2 missigned hhii and hhiii respectively. Final leaf blank.

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Author:  Avicenna (980-1037)
Title/Imprint: Liber canonis primus quem Princeps Aboali Abinsceni de medicina edidit
[884] p. ; 22 cm. (4to.); Octaviani Scoti: Venice , 1490

Avicenna, a Persian philosopher of the 11th century, produced this work, perhaps the most famous book in the history of medicine. It helped preserve the medical writings of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen and served as the most important medical authority up to the 1600s.
Full title: Liber canonis primus quem Princeps Aboali Abinsceni de medicina edidit / / tr aslatus a Magistro Gerardo Cremonensi in Toleto ab Arabico in Latin u.
Also known as: Qānūn fī al-ṭibb Book 1-5; Canon medicinae; Opera medica.
Imprint from colophon: Venetiis : Impressus [et symbol] diligentissime correctus m adato et impensis nobilis viri Octauiani Scoti ..., 1490 die 24 Martij ([Venice : Bonetus Locatellus])
Signatures: a-p8 q10 t-z8 [et symbol]8 [con symbol]8 [orum symbol]8 A-N8 O-P6 Q-Z8 2a-2b8 2c10 2d-2g8 2h10. Text in double columns; guide letters for initials. Publisher's Device above colophon.
The work, Libellus Auicene de viribus cordis translatus ab Arnaldo de Villa Noua, appears on leaves gg5 verso-hh4 recto.
Cited/Indexed in: Goff A-1424; GW 3122.
First (blank) leaf wanting in our copy.
Our copy has stamped in gold on front cover: E.A.S.L.; on spine: Avicennæ Opera Medica 12.B.20.

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Author:  Joannes de Ketham (15th cent.)
Title/Imprint: Fasciculus medicinae
[80] p. : ill. ; 31 cm. (fol.); Gregorius de Gregorijs Fratres: Venice , 15 Oct. 1495

Books for use in anatomy instruction in medical schools became important soon after the invention of printing. One of the earliest examples is this compilation by Ketham of various medical texts by authors such as Mondino del Luzzi and Pietro Andrea Morsiano. Topics covered in the book were uroscopy, pregnancy, bloodletting, epidemics, and surgical procedures. The ten woodcuts are a high point of 15th-century design and include the first representation of a dissecting scene.
Johannes de Ketham can convincingly be identified as Hans von Kircheim of Swabia, fl. 1455-1470, professor of medicine in Vienna, who used this collection for his lectures and recommended it to his pupils. This collection of texts was in circulation by 1400. See K. Sudhoff, The Fasciculus Medicinae of Johannes de Ketham, Alemanus. Milan, 1924.
Full title: Fasciculus medicine in quo continentur: videlicet.
Imprint from colophon: Uenetijs : Impressus per Ioannes [et] Gregorius de Gregorijs fratres, 1495 die 15 Octobris. First published in Venice in 1491. The Herald 121 is the 1495 edition described here that was owned by Bern Dibner since he did not own a first edition.
Signatures: a-f6 g4.
Woodcuts (full-page): verso of a1 (Petrvs de Montagnana); recto of a2; verso of a2 (Fasciculus medicine similitudo complexionum & elementorum); recto of a4; recto and verso of b2; rectos of c2, c6 and d3; and verso of e2.
Contents: Primo iudicia vrinarum cum suis accidentijs -- Secūdo tractatus de flobotomia -- Tertio de cyrogia -- Quarto de matrice mulierū [et] impregnatione -- Quinto concilia vtilissima contra epidimiā -- Sexto de Anothomia mūdini toti[us] corporis humani: Et q[uia?] plura alia que hic no explanantur in titulo hābētur in hijs opusculis : vt ma nifestetur legenti.
Cited/Indexed in: Hain *9775; Goff K-14

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Author:  Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)
Title/Imprint: De humani corporis fabrica
[6l] 659 [i.e. 663], [1] p. [18l] : ill., fold. plates ; 42 cm.; Ioannis Oporini: Basel , 1543

This epochal book was the first truly accurate description of the human body. Written by the Flemish physician Vesalius, he based it on his own dissections of human cadavers. He realized that the classical and authoritative works on anatomy by Galen were seriously flawed and tried to correct them in this extensive treatise accompanined by superb illustrations prepared in Titian's workshop.
Full title: Andreae Vesalii Bruxellensis, Scholae Medicorum Patauinae Professoris, De humani corporis fabrica libri septem.

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Author:  William Harvey (1578-1657)
Title/Imprint: Exercitatio anatomica de motv cordis et sangvinis in animalibvs
72, [2] p., 2 leaves of plates : ill. ; 20 cm.; F. Fitzeri: Frankfurt , 1628

Harvey discovered the true nature of how blood circulates in the human body and presented it for the first time in this small book. He demonstrated how blood flowed in a circulatory pattern with the heart acting as a pump. Prior to Harvey, the general belief was that blood ebbed and flowed within the body in a sort of tidal action.
Errata: [2] p. at end.
Provenance: Baron Landau (bookplate); Raimondo Couhi (presentation inscription); Ranieri Massei (inscription); manuscript note on endsheet.

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Author:  Paracelsus (1493-1541)
Title/Imprint: Opera omnia: medico-chemico-chirvrgica
3 v. in 2. front. (port.) illus. 35 cm.; I. Antonij & Samuelis de Tournes: Geneva , 1658

A Swiss physician, Paracelsus is best known for his role in establishing the importance of chemistry in the practice of medicine. His relatively sound medical practices did much to end the era of superstition in medicine. This book is the first edition of the collected works of Paracelsus.
Volumes 2 and 3 have special title-pages only.
Full title & edition: Avr. Philip. Theoph. Paracelsi Bombast ab Hohenheim ... Opera omnia: medico-chemico-chirvrgica, tribvs volvminibvs comprehensa. Ed. novissima et emendatissima, ad germanica & latina exemplaria accuratissimè collata; variis tractatibus & opusculis summâ hinc inde diligentiâ conquisitis, vt in voluminis primi præfationa indicatur, locupletata: indicibusque exactissimis instructa.

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Author:  Giambattista Morgagni (1682-1771)
Title/Imprint: De sedibus, et causis morborum per anatomen indagatis libri quinque
2 v., [1] leaf of plates : port. ; 41 cm. (fol.); Remondiniana: Venice , 1761

Morgagni was an Italian physician who developed pathological anatomy into a modern science. This great work details some 640 dissections detailing the anatomical examination of different diseases. He described some cases in such great detail that many are still unsurpassed today.
Full title: Jo. Baptistæ Morgagni P.P.P.P. De sedibus, et causis morborum per anatomen indagatis libri quinque : dissectiones, et animadversiones, nunc primum editas, complectuntur propemodum innumeras, medicis, chirurgis, anatomicis profuturas : multiplex præfixus est index rerum, & nominum accuratissimus.
The engraved portait bound as frontispiece is dated 1762. The title page to tome 1 is in red and black.
Our copy contains a bookseller's label: C.E. Rappaport, Libri rari, Roma.

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Author:  James Lind (1716-1794)
Title/Imprint: A treatise on the scurvy : in three parts, containing an inquiry into the nature, causes, and cure, of that disease
xv, [1], 456 p. ; 21 cm. (8vo.); Sands, Murray and Cochran: Edinburgh , 1753

Lind is considered the "founder of naval hygiene in England" and is remembered for his application of citrus juice to overcome the severe problem of scurvy. Lind learned of the treatment of scurvy from Dutch sources and advocated its widespread acceptance by the British Navy. When he published this book in 1753, more sailors were dying from scurvy than from combat.
Full title: A treatise on the scurvy : in three parts, containing an inquiry into the nature, causes, and cure, of that disease : together with a critical and chronological view of what has been published on the subject
Signatures: [a]4 b4 A-3L4. Includes bibliographical references and index. Errata, p. [xvi], slip cancelled.
Book plate (on recto of front free endpaper): Duglas Guthrie.

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Author:  Edward Jenner (1749-1823)
Title/Imprint: An inquiry into the causes and effects of the variolæ vaccinæ : a disease discovered in some of the western counties of England, particularly Gloucestershire, and known by the name of the cow pox
[2], iv, 75, [3] p., [4] leaves of plates : col. ill. ; 29 cm.; Sampson Low: London , 1798

The English surgeon Jenner was the discoverer of the vaccination for smallpox. This work discusses his study of the disease that plagued the world in the 18th century and how he was able to use an inoculation of a milder disease, cowpox, and use this as an effective immunization against the more virulent and deadly smallpox.

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Author:  Humphry, Sir Davy (1778-1829)
Title/Imprint: Researches, chemical and philosophical; chiefly concerning nitrous oxide, or dephlogisticated nitrous air, and its respiration
xvi, [4], 580 p., I leaf of plates : ill. ; 22 cm.; J. Johnson: London , 1800

This work was one of the famous chemist Davy's firs works published when he was 22 years old. It marks a notable achievement in medicine as it describes his research on nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and its potential for use in surgical operations. However, it took another forty years before its efficacy was practically demonstrated. This copy was once owned by the famous science collector, Herbert McLean Evans.
Printed on light blue wove paper. Errata: p. [xvii]; publisher's advertisement: p. [xviii]. Includes bibliographical references.

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Author:  R. T. H. (René Théophile Hyacinthe) Laennec (1781-1826)
Title/Imprint: De l'auscultation médiate, ou, Traité du diagnostic des maladies des poumons et du coeur : fondé principalement sur ce nouveau moyen d'exploration
2 v. : ill. ; 23 cm.; J.-A. Brosson et J.-S. Chaudé: Paris , 1819

Laennec was the inventor of the stethoscope, which for him took the form of a long and narrow wooden tube. After using this device for three years on his patients, he described his research in this ground-breaking work.
On the title page verso: De l'imprimerie de Feugueray ...
Vol. 1: xlviii, 456, [8] p., IV folded leaves of plates; v. 2: xvi, 472 p.
Includes bibliographic references and index.
Tipped in tome 1 on the front free endpaper is a portrait of Laennec.

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Author:  William Beaumont (1785-1853)
Title/Imprint: Experiments and observations on the gastric juice, and the physiology of digestion
280 p. : 3 illus. ; 23 cm.; F. P. Allen: Plattsburgh, N.Y. , 1833

Beaumont was able to describe the process of human digestion for the first time in great detail due to an odd circumstance. In 1819, a trapper in Michigan, Alexis St. Martin, where Beaumont as serving as an Army surgeon, suffered a shotgun blast to the stomach and Beaumont treated the near-fatal wound. The wound healed in an unusual way which allowed Beaumont to look into the trapper's digestive tract and examine his digestive process. He published the results in this landmark 1833 work proving that digestion was a chemical process. The Dibner Library's copy was once owned by the Beaumont Medical Club.
This edition was reissued in Boston in 1834. The second American edition was published in 1847 under title: The physiology of digestion, with experiments on the gastric juice.
Errata on p. 279.
The Dibner Library copy has laid in it: [4] p. photo-reproduction of Beaumont's article from the Medical recorder, v. 9, 1826, p. 94-97, with the wax letter-seal used by Dr. Beaumont, inscribed in ink to Dr. Edward C. Streeter from Arnold Luckhardt, Jan. 10, 1939.
Our copy has the bookplate: The Beaumont Medical Club, Connecticut.
Our copy has the autograph in ink of a former owner on front free endpaper and title page: J.C. Hall; a 19th cent.[?] ink doodle of a man shown in profile is on the front paste-down endpaper. It also has some annotations and markings in the text in pencil in an unknown hand. A brief undated excerpt from a newspaper identified in pencil as the Washington post, referring to Mr. St. Martin, is mounted on p. [9].
Our copy has the original[?] brown paperboard binding with a brown cloth spine, a printed paper spine label; It has been re-backed.

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Author:  Claude Bernard (1813-1878)
Title/Imprint: Sur une nouvelle fonction du foie chez l'homme et les animaux
p. 571-574 ; 28 cm.; Bachelier: Paris , 1850

Bernard was an expert on studying how digestion occurred and in this article he announced his initial studies on what came to be his discovery of the glycogenic function of the liver.
Detached from: Comptes rendus hebdomadairesdes séances de l'Académie des sciences, t.31, n.17.

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Author:  Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (1821-1902)
Title/Imprint: Die Cellularpathologie in ihrer Begründung auf physiologische und pathologische Gewebelehre
XVI, 440 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.; August Hirschwald: Berlin , 1858

This work discusses Virchow's important work in the field of cellular pathology. He was able to use the insight that every living cell came from some pre-existing cell and not from some undefined amorphous material to get a better understanding of how diseases affect living organisms.
Full title: Die Cellularpathologie in ihrer Begründung auf physiologische und pathologische Gewebelehre : zwanzig Vorlesungen, gehalten während der Monate Februar, März und April 1858 im Pathologischen Institute zu Berlin
Colophon: Druck von Trowitzsch und Sohn.

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Author:  Joseph, Baron Lister (1827-1912)
Title/Imprint: On the antiseptic principle in the practice of surgery
p. 353-356; London , 1867

This article marks the discovery of the principle of antiseptic medicine. Lister came to understand that germs were not just carried by air but by other materials that came into contact with wounds. By treating dressings with carbolic acid, Lister was able to reduce the numbers of deaths due to infection to an astonishing degree.
Our copy is contained in the full 1867 issue of The Lancet (1867), v.2, Sept.21.
A noted in the article: "A paper read before the British Medical Association in Dublin on the 9th of August, 1867".
The 1867 issue also contains the article: Lister, Joseph. "On a new method of treating compound fracture, abscess, etc.", in The lancet (1867), v. 1, p. 326-329, 357-359, 387-389, 507-509, and v. 2, 95-96, 234-235.
Our copy has a publisher's blind-stamped green cloth binding with gilt-lettered spine; brown endpapers; and red sprinkled edges.

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Author:  Robert Koch (1843-1910)
Title/Imprint: Die Aetiologie der Tuberculose
29, [1] p. ; 23 cm.; L. Schumacher: Berlin , 1882

This is the article in which Koch announced his discovery and isolation of the bacteria that caused tuberculosis. With his work, Koch and his colleagues placed the science of microbiology on a sound basis. This article was originally printed in the Berliner klinische Wochenschrift, 1882, No.15.
Full title: Die Aetiologie der Tuberculose : (nach einem in der physiologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin am 24. März cr. gehaltenen Vortrage)

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Author:  Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936)
Title/Imprint: Die Arbeit der Verdauungsdrüsen
XII, 199, [5] p. : ill. ; 26 cm.; J.F. Bergmann: Wiesbaden , 1898

Pavlov's work on studying the development of the conditioned reflex in animals was ground-breaking. This work is the German translation of his Russian-language original, and made his ideas more widely available to his European colleagues.
Original Russian title: Lektsii o rabotie glavnykh pishchevaritel'nykh zhelez.

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Author:  Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915)
Title/Imprint: Die experimentelle Chemotherapie der Spirillosen
VIII, 164 p., [8] folded leaves of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.; Julius Springer: Berlin , 1910

Ehrlich became famous for his work in chemotherapy, particularly in his finding a treatment for syphilis. This work is the landmark publication of his and Hata's initial tests of their use of salvarsan, an arsenic compound, to treat syphilis.
Our copy has the bookplate: Herbert Charles Moffitt. It also has the bookseller's label: Josef Safar, Spezialbuchhandlung für Medizin, Wien.

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