Richardo Mead - Monita et Praecepta Medica - 1757

(English Version)Lot Title:Richard Mead - Monita et praecepta medica - Paris, G. Cavelier, 1757 - Early Parisian edition in original Latin featuring a 18th-century manuscript land-survey sketch.Description:An intriguing copy in its original language (Latin) of the celebrated medical treatise by the British scholar Richard Mead (1673–1754), physician to King George II of Great Britain. Printed in Paris by Guillaume Cavelier in 1757. In this mature work, Mead compiles his lifelong clinical observations on a wide array of pathologies, featuring full chapters dedicated to fevers, epilepsy, diabetes, skin conditions, and heart diseases (De morbis cordis, p. 64).Format: In-8 (18.6 x 11.2 cm).Pagination: [8 pp. of preface and index] + 166 pages (Complete / Collationné complet).Binding: Contemporary full mottled calfskin (basane). Spine with 5 raised bands beautifully decorated with gilt floral and geometric patterns in compartments. Red leather title label with gilt lettering MEAD / MONIT. Red mottled edges.Unique Feature & Provenance Value:The rear endpaper of this specific copy preserves an exceptional 18th-century pen-and-ink land-surveying/topographical sketch. The drawing outlines a plot of land bordering a winding riverbed and includes detailed handwritten mathematical annotations using the old French pre-metric system: toises, pieds, and pouces (toises, feet, and inches). A fascinating historical testimony that elevates this volume into a unique collector's piece.Condition Report:Generally in quite good condition for a mid-18th-century book. Text and interior are very clean and fresh, with crisp typography and engraved initial capitals. The binding shows natural cosmetic wear consistent with age: slight superficial scuffing (loss of epidermis) on the covers and rubbing on the lower corners. The spine features a small, old worm track (boring from a bookworm insect) at the bottom compartment, which does not compromise the structural soundness of the volume; the binding remains tight and solid.