Pare’ - Les Oeuvres d’ Ambroise Pare’ - 1664

Pare’ Ambroise

The Works of Ambroise Paré

Lyon - 1664 -
At Iean Gregoire's

In folio grande - 36 x 23.5 cm.
(16), 852, (74) p.

The father of modern surgery.

Pare' (1510/1590) was a French doctor and surgeon, considered the father of modern surgery.
He was the royal surgeon of King Henry II of France.
of Queen Catherine de' Medici and her four children.
He is credited with introducing vessel ligation following amputations.

The most fascinating part of the text is the section dedicated to the so-called 'monsters and prodigies,' in which the author investigates the causes that may have led Nature to deviate from the norm, resulting in monstrous and deformed creatures.
Pare indeed defines monsters as 'phenomena that appear outside the course of nature', narrating about monstrous generations, beings with great deformities, differentiating them from the miracles 'that occur against nature', generated by unnatural unions between man and animal.
One can read numerous anecdotes and stories of extraordinary events involving both humans and animals, bizarre beings, abortions, as well as natural phenomena that were once incomprehensible.

At the time of this publication, Pare’ feared imprisonment or the destruction of his published works without the authorization of the Faculty of Medicine.
The issue was brought to Parliament, forcing the author to justify himself in response to defamation by writing a 15-page booklet, of which only one copy remains preserved at the BNF.

This volume, which gathers thirty texts into a single publication, is complete, richly illustrated, and contains various topics including:
anatomy, muscles, skeleton, tumors, war wounds, arthritis, gangrene, leprosy, plague, childbirth, bandages, fractures, distillations, surgical instruments, prostheses, and 'strange creatures'.

Beautiful period binding in full leather, with a sturdy six-raised spine, richly decorated, along with a beige Morocco leather label bearing a gilded title within frames.
Good reconditioning, with minor scratches, leather repairs, and some cutter incisions on the back plate.

Cards are rather browned, with stains and small tears, as well as recurring humidity, but NOT bothersome, mainly due to the paper quality.
The card IIi2 and the card MMm4 have rough restorations, with paper additions and stains, but without ANY loss of text or engraving (see photo recto and verso).
Torn parts repaired on C2 and Vv6.
Small defect at the corner of Ss, without any loss of text.
Minor restorations at the frontispiece and the following page.
Ancient ex libris on manuscripts at the title page, partially erased.
Handwritten paper label from an old French bookstore, attached and easily removable.
The rear guard is absent.
Counter-plaques and first guards decorated originally.

The Pope’s texts, given their great fame, are often found in poor condition and incomplete, as they are frequently consulted and printed on paper of not excellent quality.
This copy, despite being affected by the multiple uses of past eras, preserves a dignified preservation.

A complete and original specimen in every part.
Settled. Complete.