104 pp. Small 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed marbled boards. Freystadt [Dresden]: 1690.

First edition, and very rare (no copy in North America according to WorldCat), of this pseudonymous second attack by the alchemist/chemist Amelung on the Reformierter Apothecker (1688) of Janusz Abraham Gehema (1617-1715). Gehema was one of the leading proponents in Germany of the “new medicine” of the Dutch and French, which he had learned while a medical student at Leiden, Groningen, and Utrecht.

In the Reformierter Apothecker, Gehema presented his plan to reform the apothecary trade in Germany by reducing and simplifying the range of remedies to only useful herbs... 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

Large engraved vignette on title. Title in red & black. 8 p.l., 626, [69] pp. Folio, cont. blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards, arms on covers effaced. Lyon: J. & P. Prost, 1636.

First edition, Schuh’s issue B (no stated priority) with the dedication to Charles de Neufville. “Very scarce. Compendium of all the author ever discovered or read about the subject of mineralogy. It was published posthumously from notes he left by his Order at Lyon six years after his death. Printed in a double column format in a relatively small type-size, the work is a vast storehouse of all things mineralogical, including new ideas... More

Seven vols. 8vo (218 x 160 mm.), orig. wrappers, each with an individual title label on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan: all late Edo].

A fascinating collection of texts on equine medicine, all bound in a similar fashion:

Vol. 1: Manuscript label on upper cover, entitled “Basho hijutsu den” [“Horse Book Secret Methods Passed On”]. Nine brush & ink illus. in the text. 31 folding leaves. This text is concerned with exercising horses in each season, and includes “32 Rules of Exercise.” At the end, we find a date of 1825, the name of the person who provided this information, Seizaimon Sekiguchi... More

Twelve full-page woodcuts & numerous woodcuts in the text. 36 folding leaves. Two parts in one vol. 8vo, orig. blue wrappers (wrappers rubbed & somewhat wormed), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover no longer present, modern stitching. “Ichijo-dori” [a street in Kyoto]: Tomikura Tahei, 1690.

First edition of this early and rare book providing prescriptions for treatments in the different stages of tuberculosis. The author describes ten drugs made from vegetables that give miraculous results in treating the disease. The second part, entitled “Mujo Gengen santen shinden gyokudo shoshi chiden shirochu soho,” describes the parasitic worms said to grow in the stomach and... More

4 p.l., 281, [15] pp. 8vo, cont. vellum over boards (spine attractively rebacked with leather), trace of ties, spine gilt. Basel: R. Wynter, 1541.

First edition of Gesner’s very rare first book (he had two earlier appearances in books, one as editor and the other as contributor). Gesner published this work at the age of 25, and it reflects his lifelong interest in botany and classification.

This is an alphabetical list of plants’ names compiled from the works of authors on medical topics in antiquity and in the early Middle Ages. The alphabetical arrangement of plants both by their tradition Latin names and... More

Many woodcut illus. 159 folding leaves. Five parts in one vol. Oblong 8vo, orig. dark blue thick wrappers (wrappers rubbed), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (label rubbed & soiled), orig. stitching. Kyoto, Edo, & Osaka: Hishiya magobei et al., 1859.

A late Japanese edition of one of the earliest Chinese collections of texts on horse medicine. Our book stems from a “late 14th-century compilation [which] does contain genuine works from earlier times. This is the Simu anji ji (Collections for Pacifying Stallions when Administering Flocks), published in 1384. Judging from internal evidence, most of its components are apparently from the 11th and... More

Two folding engraved plates. xi, [5], 390 pp. Small 8vo, cont. red morocco, with the arms in gilt of either the Comtesse de Provence or the Comtesse d’Artois (see below), triple gilt fillet round sides, spine nicely gilt, a.e.g. Paris: J.B. Coignard, 1745.

First edition and a lovely copy in contemporary red morocco with arms (see below). “La Garaye (1675-1755), a Breton nobleman and philanthropist, was a diligent chemist who devised a novel method of preparing medicines from minerals by long maceration with neutral salt solutions. He also extracted a number of principles from plants as from Peruvian bark... More

Forty parts in 12 vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers, new stitching. At the beginning of each part: Cixi: Prefaces dates 1776 & 1788.

A valuable and influential dictionary of synonyms and antonyms in the Chinese language. Li, a native of Cixi, served as a magistrate in Wangjiang County. Originally published in 39 parts, this edition has the valuable supplement — the 40th part — by Huai Guan, painter and librarian, who lived in Hangzhou, near Cixi.

This is an encyclopedic work, encompassing synonyms and antonyms in all disciplines, including science, politics, history, gastronomy, costumes, technology, books and bibliography, transportation, weaving, military history, agriculture, antiquities, music, religious texts, pharmacology... More

Three vols. Small 8vo, cont. mottled sheep (some wear to ends of spines & corners, fore-edge of upper cover of Vol. III worn), spines gilt, brown & green morocco lettering pieces on spines. Paris: P. Fr. Didot jeune, 1777 [but probably 1778].

A pirated reprint of the authorised second edition of 1778, which was expanded to nearly twice the size of the first edition with an up-to-date account of chemistry and much new material. Although technical dictionaries had appeared earlier, this was the first attempt to cover the whole field of chemistry, pure and applied, in an encyclopedic manner. The introduction traces the progress... More

Four full-page brush & ink illus. 14 folding leaves. 8vo (244 x 165 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers somewhat soiled), stitched as issued. [Japan: ca. 1820].

Nakagami (1743-1833), a member of the great Koiho (Traditional Medicine) School, was one of the leading practitioners of his day. He was trained in the method of Kan, To, and Ge (perspiration, emesis, and purgation). He started his practice in Kyoto in 1791 and wrote on pathology, leprosy, psychiatric diseases, water cures, and diagnosis of diseases. Most of his texts remained in manuscript.

Our manuscript, based on the secret teachings of Nakagami, is concerned with methods of diagnosis. It was prepared... More

Numerous finely detailed brush & ink illus. in the text, some heightened in red ink or gray wash. 45 folding leaves. Three parts in one vol. 8vo (237 x 164 mm.), orig. patterned blue wrappers, manuscript title label on upper cover, new stitching. On final page (in trans.): “Copied in Kyoto in 1813.”

This richly illustrated manuscript is part of the Chinese tradition of skin-deep orthopedic therapies associated with waike, literally “external therapies.” Texts like ours therefore required numerous instructive illustrations of the structure of the skeleton, therapeutic methods, bone-setting, and orthopedic instruments.

There are several other surviving manuscript copies of this anonymous text (the one at Tokyo University Library is incomplete; there is another in the collection of the Naito Museum of Pharmaceutical Science and Industry in Gifu Prefecture). The author describes methods of deep massage and manipulations. He describes and names all 332 bones of the body, starting with the skull and ending with the feet. There are two magnificent views of the human skeleton — front and back. The author offers a number of case histories where he employed manipulations and/or deep massage therapies. More