This attractive scroll begins with three large figures of the human body — front, rear, and side views — with locations of acupuncture points (red dots) and moxibustion locations (black dots). Each of the acupuncture pressure points are labeled in manuscript with their names. The moxibustion points are also labelled but with notes giving their locations. The three images are delicately painted with flesh colors and black hair. The anterior view depicts the 21 bones of the spine. Many of these are numbered with references to specific organs. Again, pressure points are displayed.

These illustrations are derived from the Ling-shu [the “Vital Axis”], a rare collection of dissertations on moxibustion and acupuncture, written in about the second century BCE, which “formed [along with the Su Wen] the theoretical basis of classical Chinese medicine…the Ling-shu…discusses mainly therapy — mostly centered on medicinal prescriptions, but also including physical therapies such as bonesetting and breathing exercises, and stimulation treatments such as acupuncture, moxibustion and massage.”–Sugimoto & Swain, Science & Culture in Traditional Japan, p. 85. More about A finely drawn & painted acupuncture and moxibustion scroll on four joined sheets of paper...

Woodcut printer’s device on title. 4 p.l. (last leaf a blank), 79 pp. Small 8vo, somewhat later vellum over boards. Bologna: J. Rubrius, 1564.

First edition of an extremely rare book in which Aranzi (1530-89), professor of anatomy at Bologna, describes his discovery of “the ductus venosus of the fetus that runs to the umbilical cord.”–Castiglioni, A History of Medicine, p. 428. He was the first to state the maternal and foetal circulations were separate, and found the highly oxygenated blood supply was connected from the placenta through the ductus venosus to the foetal circulation.

“His De Humano Foetu was an important book…he was the first to maintain that the maternal and foetal circulations are separate, but he naturally did not, and could not, speak of circulations, since he lived before Harvey. Nor could he have proved his point satisfactorily with the means then at his command, and, as we shall see, it was to take another century before the proof was given. Apart from this valuable contribution to embryology, Arantius gave some admirable anatomical descriptions of the foetal membranes.”–Garrison, A History of Embryology, p. 105. More about De Humano Foetu Libellus

17 painted scenes, using brush and colors, on 63 pages. 34; 25; 22 folding leaves. Three vols. 8vo (270 x 187 mm.), orig. wrappers, modern stitching. [Japan]: late Edo.

This handsomely illustrated manuscript, written by Tsuki Shirai, describes and illustrates the famous hot springs of Atami (“hot ocean”), which have been known and appreciated since the 8th century. Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), believed the springs of Atami were so beneficial to his health that he had quantities of the water transported to Edo.

These volumes are really a travel guide to Atami and the surrounding area. The first volume begins with an index to all three volumes... More about Manuscript on paper, manuscript labels on upper covers entitled “Atami Onsen zuko” [“The...

1 p.l., 3, [1], [v]-xx, 338 pp. 8vo, attractive antique blue morocco-backed marbled boards (title slightly browned), spine gilt. Paris: Tilliard Frères, Juin 1810.

The uncommon sale catalogue of the library of Fourcroy (1755-1809), the great chemist. The catalogue lists 2781 lots of which about 2000 are works on science and medicine. Many rare chemical books are listed. It is preceded by a biographical note including a bibliography of Fourcroy’s writings and a schedule of the sale. At the end, there is a 68-column index.

According to Peignot, the compiler of the catalogue was François Henri Stanislas de l’Aulnay (1739-1831), the author of... More about Catalogue des Livres de la Bibliothèque de feu M. A.F. de Fourcroy

95, [1] pp. 8vo, cont. vellum over boards (lower portion of spine neatly repaired at an early date, some occasional light browning and foxing as usual with this book). Vienna: J.T. Trattner, 1761.

First edition of the first book to suggest percussion of the chest as a diagnostic measure, “one of the greatest of all medical classics.”–Heirs of Hippocrates 954. “With the introduction of percussion of the chest, which offered a new and dependable method of diagnosing diseases of the heart and lungs in living persons, Leopold Auenbrugger made the first advance in physical diagnosis since the age of Hippocrates. The son... More about Inventum Novum ex Percussione Thoracis Humani ut signo abstrusos interni pectoris morbos detegendi

viii, 285 pp. 8vo, cont. blue boards (corners & head of spine a bit worn), spine gilt. Paris: P.D. Pierres, 1781.

First edition. “This government ordered study was undertaken to determine whether tin from various sources contains arsenic in large enough amounts to make the use of vessels of tin harmful to health. Bayen and Charlard (Rouelle had been named to work with them but he died before the work began) repeated the experiments of Marggraf and added new ones. Their conclusion was that tin contained no arsenic or only minute harmless traces. In the course of the many experiments the nature... More about Recherches Chimiques sur l'Étain, faites et publiées par Ordre du Gouvernement; ou Réponse a...

xlii, one leaf of errata, 274 pp.; xx, 328 pp. Two vols. 8vo, cont. polished mottled calf (small inkstain to outer lower corner of the first 30 leaves), triple gilt fillet round sides, flat spines nicely gilt, red & green morocco lettering pieces on spines. Amsterdam: M.M. Rey, 1762.

First edition and a lovely set of this important work. Bonnet (1720-93), is considered one of the fathers of modern biology. He was an enthusiastic champion of preformation, the theory postulating that the animal already existed in miniature in the germ cell, which is first stated in this work. “Bonnet’s theory of generation offered the... More about Considerations sur les Corps Organisés, Ou l'on traite de leur Origine, de leur Développement,...

2 p.l., 400 pp. Small thick 8vo, cont. marbled boards, manuscript title label on upper cover. Vienna: Briffaut, 1736.

A very rare publisher and bookseller’s catalogue. Briffaut, bookseller to the University of Vienna, was active in that city from about 1730 until 1758 (his last recorded catalogue). He specialized in current and second-hand scholarly books and published many books of French literature, which was very fashionable in the Austrian capital. He also had an active business publishing maps which are listed on pages 349-80.

We also learn on pages 338-48 that he had a sideline of selling an elixir — “peaux divines” —... More about Catalogue de Livres François, Latins, Italiens, et Allemands, sur toutes sortes de Matieres,...

viii, 584 pp. Large 4to, fine antique mottled calf (first three leaves a little foxed), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Cailleau, 1785.

First edition of the earliest bibliography on mineral waters and still the most important bibliography on the subject. The book contains upwards of 1000 extensively annotated descriptions of books of all periods and in various languages on balneology, geology, chemistry, etc.

Carrère (1740-1802), a member of a distinguished family of physicians at Perpignan, took his medical degree at Montpellier and became professor of anatomy at his native city. He was also director of the newly established natural... More about Catalogue raisonné des Ouvrages qui ont été publiés sur les Eaux minérales en général, et...

Woodcut title-page, woodcut initials, & printer’s woodcut device on recto of final leaf. 4 p.l., 169 (i.e., 269), [3] pp. Small folio, 17th-cent. vellum over boards (foot of spine a little worn). Venice: V. Valgrisi for N. Bevilacqua, 1559.

First edition, issue with the dedication to Pope Pius IV, of Colombo’s only work, containing his discovery of pulmonary circulation. “This historic breakthrough in his demonstration of the lesser circulation through the lungs secures his place of importance in the line culminating in Harvey’s demonstration of the circulation of the blood sixty-nine years later.”–Heirs of Hippocrates 304.

Colombo was a one-time colleague and friend of Vesalius, whose chair of anatomy and surgery Colombo took over in 1544. He was critical of Vesalius’s illustrations and text of the Fabrica and planned to produce an illustrated anatomy with figures by Michelangelo, but this project was never realized although the two had collaborated on anatomical investigations. Colombo was the first anatomist to criticize Vesalius for errors of anatomy. “In 1559 Colombo published his own unillustrated text, De re anatomica, consisting of fifteen books…Colombo seems to have eschewed the deep Galenic learning shared by other leading contemporary anatomists, but to judge from the De re anatomica he more than compensated for this by his rich experience in dissection, vivisection, autopsy, and the practice of surgery. Quite naturally the Fabrica provided the main framework for his studies, and he made numerous improvements in Vesalius’s descriptions besides reporting a number of new discoveries of his own. The many pathological and anomalous observations he described likewise reflect his wide experience and attention to detail. He also had a strong interest in physiology and seems to have been unsurpassed among his contemporaries in his skill at vivisection… More about De Re Anatomica Libri XV

Woodcut port. of the author on title. 6 p.l., 422 (i.e. 316), [6] pp. 12mo, mid-18th-cent. dark olive morocco (minor & mostly marginal dampstaining), triple gilt fillet round sides with a gilt fleuron in each corner, flat spine gilt, a.e.g. Rouen: J. Besongne, 1603.

First edition and quite uncommon. Duval (ca. 1555-ca. 1615), a local physician and professor of medicine, wrote several other interesting medical books including one on hermaphroditism. In the present work, Duval surveys the springs of Rouen and the nearby surrounding towns. For each spring, the author describes regimens of bathing and drinking the waters, medical benefits for... More about L'Hudrotherapeutique [sic] des Fontaines medicinales, nouvellement découvertes aux environs de...

Woodcut printer’s device on title. 10, [1] leaves. Small 4to, attractive antique half-calf & marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Brescia: F. & P.M. de Marchetti, 1577.

First edition of this collection of aphorisms on pediatric subjects by Ferrari, a physician who practiced medicine in Verona. It is a companion piece — and sometimes bound with — his important De Arte Medica Infantium, Libri Quatuor, published in the same year.

“His aphorisms are based partly on Hippocrates and Galen, but partly also on much more recent writers, as can be seen from the quaint mixture of the more modern superstitions with... More about De Arte Medica Infantium Aphorismorum, Particulae Tres