Seven red & black ink illus. in the text, two full-page black & red illus., & one full-page illus. with two images in several colors. 39 folding leaves. Oblong 8vo (163 x 230 mm.), orig. blue wrappers (wrappers a little frayed), new stitching. [Japan: n.d., but mid-Edo].

An unusual, well-illustrated, manuscript on acupuncture; a detailed and extended text on how to handle and apply the needles to acupuncture loci. This explicit account is the first such text we have encountered.

The manuscript is divided into two parts; the first (leaves 1-13) is entitled “Kyusho ken” [“Manual Book of our School of Acupuncture”]. This section contains... More

Two brush & ink drawings in the text. 89 folding leaves. 8vo (190 x 127 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers somewhat frayed), orig. stitching. [Japan?: mid-Edo].

A most interesting and extensive manuscript on acupuncture and moxibustion, divided into seven parts. Based on WorldCat and Kyoto University’s manuscript with the same title, we can attribute the authorship of these texts to Chishin Tanaka, a physician of the early Edo period.

The first four parts (“East,” “West,” “South,” “North”; 17, 17, 25, 12 leaves, respectively) are devoted to general principles of acupuncture and moxibustion. In each of these parts, many symptoms and case histories are described... More

Ten full-page brush & ink illus., highlighted in red. 26 folding leaves. 8vo (258 x175 mm.), orig. wrappers, new stitching. [Japan]: dated on final leaf “April 1685.”

This early manuscript on the use of needles in acupuncture contains family secrets, passed from one generation to another. The information comes from many sources including manuscripts from the highly respected Sanmi hogen (or Sani hogan) family of doctors. On the final page of the manuscript, we learn that Tsushin Tadateru Mizuno gave the information described here to Kihei Hirano.

The text begins with a discussion of the relationship between doctor and patient: they must deal with... More

Five full-page woodcut illus. Eight folding leaves (several split at fore-edges). 8vo, orig. wrappers (quite rubbed & somewhat worn, some occasional soiling), early manuscript title label on upper cover “Tanza ryu ekigoku byoketsu,” new stitching. Edo: Ichirobee Shokai, mid-Spring 1656.

First edition of this extremely rare and early acupuncture book describing the Tanza School of acupuncture’s techniques; WorldCat lists only the Kyoto University copy, which lacks the final leaf. This is one of the earliest books to be published by Ichirobee Shokai, one of the first commercial book publishers of Edo (see Kornicki, The Book in Japan, p. 200); Shokai’s first book... More

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

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

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

1 p.l., 109 pp. Small 8vo, attractive modern marbled wrappers. Berlin: 1815.

The very rare sale catalogue — Loh, Vol. 6, p. 102, locates no copy — of the fine scientific library of Meyer (1739-1811), owner of the Hof-Apotheke in Stettin. He studied chemistry in Berlin under J.H. Pott and A.S. Marggraf, and in 1764 he went to Uppsala University, where he studied botany with Linnaeus and possibly chemistry with J.G. Wallerius. In 1780 Meyer founded a distillery in Stettin to produce French-style brandy and liqueurs according to a process that he had developed in his apothecary shop.

This library of 2227 lots was an important collection of botanical, chemical, medical, and pharmaceutical texts, including all the works of “the chemical revolution.” More

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

Fine added engraved title (a little cropped at foot), woodcut plate between pp. 14 & 15 in the first part (T4), & numerous woodcuts in the text (two slightly cropped). 5 p.l. (incl. added engraved title), 112, [16], 121-142, [3], 150-192 pp. Small 4to, cont. calf (a little rubbed), red morocco lettering piece on spine. London: R. Mab, 1634.

First edition and quite uncommon on the market; this is “the first comprehensive illustrated English book on waterworks and hydraulic machinery. It also includes sections on drawing, painting, recipes, and folk remedies, as well as one on fireworks and incendiary devices largely derivative of earlier English and continental works... More

Text in double columns. Woodcut initials & woodcut device on last page. 124 leaves. Folio, modern binding using old vellum boards with new spine, corners, & endpapers (several small diminishing wormholes in the first few leaves, lower blank corner of title-page damaged & neatly restored). Venice: Giunta, 1521.

Sixth edition (the first five are all incunables) of the Practica or Lilium medicinae, the principal work of one of the medical luminaries of the Middle Ages. Bernard of Gordon (ca. 1258-1318), of Scottish descent but born in France, was a professor at Montpellier from 1283 to 1307. He spent his entire teaching career at Montpellier and... More

Eight folding engraved plates & 2 folding printed tables. Tables in the text. 2 p.l., xxxii, [6], 228 pp.; 6 p.l., 232 pp. Two vols. Small 8vo, cont. green morocco, sides decorated in gilt, spines richly gilt, red morocco lettering pieces on spines, a.e.g. Paris: Durand, 1745.

First edition and a very fine and pretty set of this important work which greatly influenced later evolutionary opinion. Copies in contemporary morocco are rare.

“This pioneering work on experimental entomology incorporates Bonnet’s most important discovery — parthenogenetic reproduction — based on his study of aphids. Bonnet used the result of this and other discoveries as a.... More