Giovanni Pringle; Francesco Serao - Osservazioni sopra le malattie d'armata in campagna e in guarnigione - 1771

Half-leather binding with marbled paper. Gilded tooling on the spine and a gold title in a red leather panel. Blue sprayed edges.

1 blank leaf, XVI, 176, 1 blank leaf

Famous Italian translation, curated by the Neapolitan physician Francesco Serao, of the pioneering work Observations on the Diseases of the Army in Camp and Garrison (1752) by the Scottish physician Sir John Pringle (1707–1782), considered one of the fathers of military medicine. Pringle analyzed systematically the hygienic conditions, nutrition, housing and the typical diseases of soldiers (such as typhus fever or “hospital fever,” dysentery and scurvy), emphasizing prevention and the hygiene of encampments rather than only pharmacological remedies.

Decorative vignette on the title page. Initials, finales, drop cap. Text in double column. Some occasional negligible stains. Typesetting error: pages from XIII to XVI inserted erroneously between pages IV and V. On the whole, an exemplar in more than good conservative condition, complete and usable.