Anonymous - Le Bastiment De Receptes - 1583

ULTRA-RARE FRENCH HOME PHARMACOPOEIA AND MEDICAL MANUAL OF THE 16TH CENTURY

A rare and fascinating late Renaissance household and medical manual, printed in Rouen in 1581.

This French translation of an Italian compendium of domestic recipes, remedies, and practical knowledge covers a wide range of topics including ink-making, treatments for lice and scabies, toothache cures, hair preservation, food storage, and other household and medicinal remedies.

Appended is the "Médecine de Maistre Grimache," a curious collection of early pharmacopoeia reflecting folk traditions and popular medical practice of the 16th century.

The title page is ornately framed with woodcut borders featuring allegorical figures. The work represents both an important survival of popular medical and domestic literature in Renaissance France and a striking example of early vernacular printing outside Paris.

BOOK CONDITION REPORT:

Text block: Complete, some gatherings a bit soft at the edges, but holding. Pages: Age-toned, with expected foxing, light stains, and minor tears in margins. Title page with some old ink annotations and ownership marks. No writing on cover. An old signature appears faintly at bottom of cover page.

Overall: Good.

SCARCITY ANALYSIS:

There are no known copies of this edition in any libraries (search of USTC and OCLC) and no copies have appeared at auction. The Rouen printing of this very scarce book is unknown in French bibliographies of vernacular works of the sixteenth century.