Jacques de Solleysel - Le véritable parfait mareschal qui enseigne à connoistre la beauté, la bonté & les deffauts des - 1672

Rare and prized edition, printed in Paris in 1672 and highly sought after by bibliophiles, of "The True and Perfect Marshal Who Teaches How to Know the Beauty, The Qualities and the Defects of Horses" by Jacques de Solleysel, one of the most influential treatises on horses in European history and the first great veterinary science best-seller.

This exhaustive and rigorous 17th-century treatise on horses addresses the symptoms of the most common equine diseases, prevention strategies, known remedies, proper diet, and care of the dentition. It also details breeding, guidelines for traveling with horses, and the necessary harness and riding equipment. The work marked a definitive milestone in veterinary science by banishing medieval superstitions and establishing, for the first time, an empirical and systematic method for horse care and breeding. Before Solleysel, equestrian and stud books mixed animal medicine with astrology, magic, and irrational barbarous remedies. Solleysel, trained in Lyon and enriched by his travels through Europe, applied the inductive method and clinical observation. His detailed focus on equine anatomy, foal-rearing, and smithing signified the professionalization of the marshal’s craft (the master surgeon, farrier, and caretaker). The text’s impact was so great that it became the absolute reference for more than a century across the continent; it reached more than thirty editions and multiple translations into English, German, and Spanish, thus consolidating itself as the standard for horse care in the courts of the era.

This early third edition (the first is 1664), "revised, corrected and expanded," was printed in the Paris workshops of Clouzier in 1672 (in the author’s lifetime). It is very rare. The global OCLC catalog records only 6 copies in public libraries worldwide, none of them in Spain. Jacques de Solleysel (1617–1680) was a renowned horologist, author, and French riding master, recognized as one of the most influential figures in the history of veterinary science and European equestrian science.

Complete work in one volume illustrated with a total of 30 engravings: Twenty engravings interwoven with the text, eight full-page, and the two extraordinary and famous illustrations. The first is a full-page engraving showing the anatomical figure of the horse, and the second is the iconic double-page engraving known as the "Horse of Diseases" or map of horse diseases. This is the most spectacular and coveted engraving in the work. It is an impressive and innovative medical infographic from the 17th century designed to diagnose the animal visually. The central inscription on the animal’s belly reads: "These lines will reveal the diseases... the figure refers to the page of the treatise." Considered one of the earliest and most accomplished examples of interactive anatomical diagrams in the history of science, it visually represents Solleysel’s main thesis: locate the disease through direct clinical observation, breaking with the esoteric treatises of the past. The copy is missing the frontis and the last two index pages. Otherwise, complete.

Sturdily bound in full contemporary calf with raised bands on the spine. Very worn and with some restoration, but still solid. Interior also fatigued, as is customary in these large-format field manuals: some tears with losses, stains, and fine wormholes along the inner margins of some pages. Fold-out map creased and reinforced with backing in brown Japanese paper. Text in French. 24 x 19 cm, 1440 grams. [26], 839, [9] p. Rare, even more so for preserving the "Horse of Diseases".

Jacques de Solleysel, Le vrai parfait mareschal qui enseigne a connoistre la beauté, la bonté & les deffauts des chevaux : ensemble un traité du haras, pour élever de beaux poulains ; & les preceptes pour bien emboucher les chevaux... Reueu corrigé & augmenté de plus d’un tiers en cette 3e édition. A Paris : Gervais Clouzier, au Palais, 1672


Ref. librería: C95390870875