52 parts in 33 vols., plus three vols. of woodcuts, one vol. of Prefaces & “Grand Index,” and one vol. of “Addenda,” for a total of 38 volumes. Large 8vo, orig. wrappers (some rubbing & minor wear), new stitching. [Japan: ca. 1640-53].

Second edition to be published in Japan of “The Great Pharmacopoeia” [in Chinese: Ben cao gang mu [or] Pen Tshao Kang Mu], the largest and most complete work on materia medica of its time, by the father of Chinese pharmacy and one of the greatest of all physicians of China. All of traditional Chinese herbal medicine is based on this work.

Li Shih-Chen (1518-93), “was probably the greatest naturalist in Chinese history, and worthy of comparison with the best of the scientific men contemporary with him in Renaissance Europe. His scholarly approach to the wealth of previous literature makes him also the greatest Chinese historian of science before modern times, for his works are an unparalleled source of information on the development of biological and chemical knowledge in East Asia… More

Cover illustration by Max Ernst & 12 photographic closeups of authors, printed on both sides of six sheets of coated paper, tipped-in. 15 pp. 8vo (220 x 130 mm.), orig. printed paper wrappers. Paris: J. Corti, [1931].

A rare bookseller’s catalogue issued by one of the principal distributors of Surrealist works in Paris. The famous chart of authors prescribed and invalidated by the Surrealists “Lisez / Ne Lisez” appears for the first time in print on the lower wrapper of this catalogue. The Librairie José Corti on the Rue de Clichy served as the occasional headquarters of the collective imprint Editions Surréalistes. Ernst’s steel-engraved collage on... More

63 pp. 8vo, orig. blue boards, interleaved throughout. Paris: de l’Imprimerie du Département de la Guerre, An II [1793-94].

First edition of this pharmaceutical formulary prepared for the military hospitals of France. Quérard attributes the authorship to Parmentier (1737-1813), who held the position of apothicaire-major of the Hôtel Royal des Invalides for several years and “carved out a brilliant career in military pharmacy, eventually achieving the rank of inspector general in the army health service.”–D.S.B., X, p. 325.

This copy is quite interesting, having been interleaved with contemporary additional pharmaceutical recipes written on many of... More

Edited & with a Preface by Michael Toxites. Typographical device on title. 8 p.l. (final leaf a blank), 55 numbered leaves, one blank leaf. Small 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards (first three leaves a little defective in lower outer corner, minor browning), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Strasbourg: N. Wyriot, 1572.

First collected edition of all the texts Paracelsus had written during his lifetime on the “Philosopher’s Stone,” here gathered and edited by Toxites, the disciple of Paracelsus and a chief editor of his writings. In his Preface, Toxites states that the Manuale de Lapide medicinali is printed here... More

One double-page engraved plate depicting the town of Griesbach. Title within ruled border & printed in red & black. 20 p.l., 463 pp. Thick 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards (title with small hole in gutter touching border, some light browning due to the quality of the paper), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Strasbourg: J. Martin, 1607.

First edition of this rare balneological work; WorldCat locates no copy in North America. Bad Peterstal-Griesbach is a well-known spa town in the upper Rench Valley, one of the side valleys of the Rhine in the northern Black Forest. Its iron waters have been... More

Title within typographical border. [32] leaves. Small 8vo, attractive calf-backed paste-paper boards (some worming touching several letters throughout), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Freiburg: M. Beckler, 1598.

First edition and very rare; WorldCat lists one copy at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Deodatus (fl. 1603-28), was a French doctor who served as physician to the bishops of Basel. In this work, he describes a number of illnesses including hernia, regional epidemics, gout, fevers, etc. He stresses the importance of diet.

Deodatus cites the writings of Albertus Magnus, Ryff, Braunschweig, Rösslin, Bock, Wirsung, Tabernamontanus, Mattioli, and Hantsch. More

Japan: various sizes and various dates, mostly printed in black, some in red, ranging from 1818 to 1906.

A remarkable collection of pharmaceutical ephemera: these broadsides and envelopes were issued by pharmaceutical companies from all over Japan, for advertising and dispensing a wide variety of tablets, ointments, powders, plasters, herbal medicines, and pastes. These medicines were used for a wide variety of illnesses: indigestion, conjunctivitis, kidney disease, sea sickness, diarrhea, etc. Indeed, one of the medicines is advertised as efficacious in curing 10,000 diseases.

Some of these broadsides lists many kinds of medicines produced and marketed by a single manufacturer. Many have company... More

Woodcut illus. in the text of distillation equipment & procedures. Title printed in red & black. 79, [1] leaves. Small 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards (light browning throughout due to the quality of the paper), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Frankfurt: [Heirs of C. Egenolff], 1574.

About the fifth edition (and the second Frankfurt edition) of this interesting alchemical compilation, which is an elaboration of the well-known Probier- and Kunstbüchlein of the early 16th century. All editions are rare; the first edition was published in 1538.

“The book has no author’s name, but it may have been compiled by a certain... More

Woodcut vignette on title, printed in red & black. 96 unnumbered leaves (final two leaves blank, signature F bound after G), 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Strasbourg: T. Jobin, 1604.

Fourth edition, enlarged. The first edition appeared in 1577, a second in 1591, a third in 1597, and a fifth edition in 1623. Fischart (1546-90), was a German satirist and the principal German literary opponent of the Counter-Reformation. Indefatigable with his pen, he attacked all perversities in the public and private life of his time: astrological superstition, scholastic pedantry, ancestral pride, but especially the... More

Title within architectural woodcut border incorporating the date “1534.” Largely printed in black letter. 67 leaves, [8] pp. Small 8vo, antique calf by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, spine gilt, red leather lettering pieces on spine. [London: Printed by H. Wykes?], 1567.

An early edition of the first text on surveying printed in English. The first edition was printed by Richard Pynson in 1523; all early editions are rare, as copies were used to death. Our copy is most unusual as it is fine and large with a number of lower edges uncut.

Fitzherbert’s book is concerned primarily with giving instruction to land stewards and overseers of the... More

[Japan: mid-Edo].

This handsome scroll depicts in great detail two Japanese hand looms used to create complex patterns of silk brocade and birodo (velvet). The greatly enlarged illustrations are inspired by images in the first volume of Akisato’s Miyako meisho zue (1786), a famous guide to Kyoto. Nishijin, a district of Kyoto, was famous for its traditional textile production, employing highly specialized weaving techniques to obtain spectacular designs and effects.

As we unroll the scroll, the first loom we encounter is the sorahikibata, an overhead draw loom, which was used to produced high-quality silks with complicated designs. This loom, invented... More

1 p.l., ten numbered leaves. Folio (285 x 190 mm.), attractive antique marbled boards. [Valencia: ca. 1750].

An interesting document that describes the founding of an association to support Valencia’s principal silk production facility. Beginning in the 15th century, Valencia built a robust silk industry thanks to close ties with Genoa, which exported silk to the eastern Mediterranean. Within a century, silk had become one of Valencia’s most important exports and by the 17th century the city had consolidated control over the harvesting and manufacture of silk fiber. The mass-production of woven silk helped revitalize the Valencian economy in the 18th century after... More