HUXHAM, John.

Taisei netsubyōron 泰西熱病論 [An Essay on Fevers].

Trans. from the Dutch by Yoshida Shigenori 吉田成徳. Four full-page woodcut illus. 48.5; 41; 20; 36; 49; 61.5 folding leaves. Seven parts in six vols. 8vo, orig. pale green delicately embossed semi-stiff wrappers, upper covers with title-slips, new stitching. Edo, Kyoto, & Osaka: Yamada Sasuke 山田佐助 et al., 1814.

First edition in Japanese, translated from a copy of the 1771 Dutch translation of the important An Essay on Fevers and Their Various Kinds (1st ed.: 1750) by John Huxham (ca. 1692-1768). Clearly, a copy of that edition made its way to Dejima in Nagasaki, brought by one of the doctors stationed there.

The translator, Yoshida (1779-1824), was a late Edo rangaku (Dutch studies) doctor. Adopted into a notable medical family, he studied under Katsuragawa Hoshū and Udagawa Shinsai. In 1810, he was appointed doctor to the Kaga fiefdom and lived in Edo. Yoshida specialized in internal medicine and founded the first rangaku clinic specializing in this field. He translated a number of Dutch medical works into Japanese.

This work describes and offers treatments for many kinds of communicable diseases and symptoms, including typhoid fever, pleurisy, pneumonia, smallpox, nervous fevers, bronchitis, etc. The fine woodcuts depict Western distillation equipment.

Fine fresh set. The embossing of the covers is very fine; the central medallion depicts a rather abstract elephant. With a bookplate stating that this set was lent to Kyoto Medical Library upon its foundation in 1899 (and clearly returned to the family).

Price: $4,750.00

Item ID: 10973