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

4 p.l., xix, 164 pp. 8vo, cont. mottled calf by John Brindley, single gilt fillet round sides, the four corners of each cover elaborately gilt with Brindley’s characteristic dolphins surmounted by crowns within circular wreaths, spine divided into six compartments, five of which with the golden fleece device in gilt, green morocco lettering piece in remaining compartment. London: J. Brindley, 1728.

First edition; an extraordinary “illuminated” copy with the title-page, initials, and section headings all heightened in gold, and bound by John Brindley, bookbinder to Frederick, Prince of Wales and Queen Caroline. The initials along with the vignettes and typographical ornaments... More

Woodcut coat-of-arms of Paracelsus on verso of title. 4 p.l., 167 pp. 4to, attractive antique calf (minor browning), gilt. Cologne: Heirs of A. Birckmann, 1564.

First edition of this rare collection of thirteen of the most important medical tracts by Paracelsus on various diseases and their treatments. They include one of the author’s most thorough discussions of gout (Paracelsus was the first to suggest the possibility of a chemical as opposed to a humoral causation for gout), an important contribution to his theories regarding the treatment of epilepsy, and descriptions of colic, rheumatism, dropsy, consumption, etc.

Fine copy. This is a rare book. More

16 unnumbered leaves. Small 4to, attractive antique calf-backed marbled boards (lightly browned), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Mulhouse: A. Hantzsch for O. von Riswick, 1596.

First edition of this rare work on dysentery; WorldCat locates only the NLM copy in North America. Wittich (1537-96), was court and city physician to the counts of Schwarzburg in Arnstadt. He wrote many other medical books.

In this work, Wittich provides a careful description of the syndrome. He makes numerous recommendations regarding diet and drink. There are several chapters regarding the treatment of children who have dysentery. The final 12 pages contain pharmaceutical recipes. More