Andreas Caesalpinus - Praxis universae artis medicae - Première édition sous ce titre - Médecine & circulation sanguine - 1606-1606

Andrea Cesalpino (1524/1525-1603) – Praxis universae artis medicae
Treviso (Tarvisii), Roberto Meietti, 1606.
In-12, [16] + 715 pages, vellum binding of the period.

First edition published under the title Praxis universae artis medicae of this important Renaissance treatise on practical medicine, of which an earlier version appeared in 1602-1603 under the title Artis medicae.

Andrea Cesalpino, Italian physician, philosopher and naturalist, occupies an important place in the history of medicine. His works are notably known for his conceptions of blood circulation, developed before William Harvey’s experimental demonstration.

The work constitutes a vast treatise on practical medicine, addressing in particular materia medica, fevers, poisons and their remedies, venereal diseases as well as disorders of the head, thorax, abdomen and the genital organs.

Beautiful title page printed in red and black, adorned with the printer’s typographic mark. Numerous historiated initials and typographic ornaments.

Provenance: presence on the guard of the old seal “Bibliothèque Biron – Dr Lavaysse.”

Condition: copy preserved in its period vellum binding. Significant loss of vellum on the first board. Light moisture staining, minor worm damage at the head of roughly the last 100 pages and more pronounced damp stain at the end of the volume, with marginal paper loss on the last three leaves. Despite these defects, the work remains clearly legible and the interior leaves are overall well preserved for a book over 400 years old.

A particularly interesting work for a collector of ancient medicine and history of science, both for its 1606 date and for Cesalpino’s importance in the history of theories of blood circulation.

The photographs are an integral part of the description and allow a precise appreciation of the specimen’s condition.