M. Fabre - Recherches sur la nature de l’homme - 1776

FABRE, Pierre.
Researches on the Nature of Man, Considered in a State of Health and in a State of Illness.
Paris: At Delalain, Bookseller, rue & next to the Comédie Françoise, 1776.

1 volume in octavo (approx. 20 × 12.5 cm). Engraved portrait frontispiece by L. A. Boizot, title page, approval and royal privilege.

Contemporary full marbled calf binding in tortoiseshell-like shades. Spine with five raised bands, decorated with gilt-tooled compartments (floral motifs and scrolling foliage), and a red morocco title label with gilt lettering (“RECHERCH. / DE L'HOMME”). Contemporary gilt or sprinkled edges.

Binding well preserved and very solid. Light signs of wear on the boards, minor wear to the headcaps, and corners very slightly rubbed. Spine giltwork well preserved and bright. Contemporary laid paper in good, fresh condition, despite a trace of old adhesive/damp staining, restored in the lower margin of the title page. Marbled-paper endpapers. Contemporary bookseller’s label on the front pastedown (“SE VEND, chez DOURDAIN, Libraire, rue Longue, à Tarbe.”) and an ex-libris label (“Ex Libris R. MAUHOURAT”).

First edition of 1776 of this treatise on medical anthropology and physiology by Pierre Fabre (1716–1791), master surgeon, former head of his company, and royal professor.
Published during the reign of Louis XVI, this work lies at the heart of the philosophical and medical debates of the Enlightenment concerning vitalism, human nature, and the workings of the body in health and disease. It is enriched with a handsome engraved portrait frontispiece after Louis-Simon Boizot.