Seven full-page woodcuts & a few smaller text illus. 49 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff wrappers, orig. block-printed title label on upper cover, modern stitching. Wakayama 若山: Kasedaya Hiemon 綛田屋丕右衞門 et al., 1818.

First edition of Takebe’s translation of and commentary on Lorenz Heister’s important writings on infections and their treatment. Heister (1683-1758), wrote one of the best and most complete works on surgery of the 18th century. Translated into Japanese, it was enormously successful, introducing Western methods to many Japanese surgeons.

Takebe (1782-1842), a samurai, has included here all of Heister’s writings on infections and has provided a number... More