treasures-rare-book-room

Treasures from the Rare Book Room: A Favorite Book to Close a Chapter

When I started to write this column in 2010, I did not think it would last until my retirement. Yet, the HSLS collection is rich, and I always could find an interesting book or item to write about. The books as material objects fascinate me. Digitization efforts all over the world made many old texts from rare book collections accessible to users; however, not all aspects of physical books can be converted to a form available online. Nothing can replace the emotions of holding a 500-year-old book in your hand, feeling the thickness or roughness of the paper or the smoothness of the binding, smelling the old parchment, surveying with your own eyes the scars accumulated due to the passing of time and previous use, or uncovering the absolute unique features of the copy in your hand. Therefore, in my short articles, I always tried to bring this material aspect of the described book along with the historical value of the text. Choosing a book for this goodbye piece turned out to be challenging, because there are way too many items in the collection that I like and still want to introduce to readers. I settled for the iconic name in the history of medicine – Andreas Vesalius and his “De humani corporis fabrica” [On the fabric of the human body].

The first edition of the book, published in Basel in 1543, is without a doubt the most valuable item in the Falk Library collection. Currently, it is on exhibit in the Rare Book Room, and all visitors to the library can see it during the library’s open hours. My favorite “Fabrica,” among the many other editions that the library has, is the second edition, published in 1555. This “anniversary” piece (celebrating 15 years of “Treasures from the Rare Book Room” and 470 years since the publication of this book) will highlight the features that make my favorite copy special.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: De arte gymnastica (Venice, 1587)

An book lying open on a table. The left page features an engraved image of men posed as if boxing in an arena with ancient Greek or Roman columns and statues. The page on the right is an illustration of three fists, each wrapped with strips of leather or fabric as boxing gloves. Image links to a larger version of the image.
Falk Library’s edition of De arte gymnastica features these plates depicting boxing

The art of exercising for health, which ancient Greeks and Romans cherished so much, was lost in the Middle Ages. The Renaissance authors brought that ancient practice back. Rediscovering the works of Hippocrates and Galen allowed them to research and re-evaluate the forgotten concepts of hygiene and health anew. One of those authors was Girolamo Mercuriale (1530-1603), an Italian physician from Forli. He was a prolific author and left as his legacy several interesting works. However, the one that earned him the appointment as professor of practical medicine at the University of Padua was his study of gymnastics in the ancient world, published in 1569. The illustrated second edition of this work appeared in Venice in 1573, followed by the third in 1587 as “De arte gymnastica” (On the art of gymnastics). The latter was recently acquired by our library. It will strengthen our collection of books supporting research into the history of health and rehabilitation science.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Corpora non agunt nisi fixata

A page from Erlich's book, featuring two photos of bacteria
A page from Die experimentelle Chemotherapie der Spirillosen.

The Latin phrase corpora non agunt nisi fixata is a well-known expression in drug-receptor pharmacology that translates to “a drug will only act when bound to its target.” It was coined by German scientist Dr. Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) who worked in many fields and left an impressive list of contributions to chemotherapy, histology, hematology, oncology, immunology, and pharmacotherapy. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908. He formulated the idea that it is possible to kill specific microbes without killing the body, and dubbed this concept the “magic bullet.” Ehrlich’s research, with the help of Sahachiro Hata, led to the discovery of an effective treatment for a deadly disease—this first “magic bullet” drug was released as Salvarsan and used to treat syphilis until the invention of antibiotics in the 1940s. If you are interested in learning more about Ehrlich’s many contributions to pharmacology, we recommend this article by Bosch and Rosich. Continue reading →

Treasures from the Rare Book Room: R.T.H. Laennec and His Breakthrough Invention

A thin piece of wood carved into a tube, which slightly flares on one end. The other end is attached to a flat round wood piece.
Typical unmarked, one-piece wood Fergusson monaural stethoscope (ca. 1890) from Falk Library’s collection. The chest-bell end rested comfortably on a patient, while the flat part with a small opening would cover the physician’s ear.

Listening to the sounds of the body is an old diagnostic technique, reported as early as the 16th century BC in an ancient Egyptian work known as the Ebers Papyrus. For centuries though, the only way to assess the sounds of the human body was to use an unaided ear on the patient’s chest. René Théophile Hyacinthe Laennec introduced mediated auscultation by inventing a stethoscope, a device to aid a physician in listening to the chest sound.

The invention was born in 1816 when the young doctor, reluctant to use a direct auscultation method on a person with a higher weight, rolled a piece of paper into a tube in the moment of need and carved the tool from wood shortly thereafter. The sound not only travelled through the improvised tool, but it was also easily and clearly audible. Thus, Laennec started to use the new device from that moment on.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Welcome back. You belong here!

A book’s subject matter and significance to a medical historical collection are sometimes outshone by the fascinating provenance or story of the material object, the physical copy itself. And such is the case with the work of Edward Stanley, the well-respected surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.

The first American edition of Stanley’s “A Treatise on Diseases of the Bones” (Philadelphia, 1849) is a cornerstone of our rheumatism collection. The systematic treatise on bone diseases was anticipated and well received by its 19th-century audience. Falk Library previously owned two copies of this important book. However, in the process of managing collections, one sometimes has to make tough choices. And so, in the late 1970s, the library deduplicated its holdings to make room for new acquisitions. How was it decided which copy should be deaccessioned? Both books had an interesting local provenance. Both were owned and donated to the library by Pitt professors who were instrumental in creating the seed book collection for the School of Medicine in the 19th century. It is difficult now to judge why the selection was made, but at the time, it was the copy from the Dr. Albert G. Walter collection that was chosen for removal from the library. The book then entered the private collectors’ market.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Making History with Weitbrecht’s Syndesmologia

Title page of Falk Library’s copy of Weitbrecht’s “Syndesmologia.”

Syndesmology is the branch of regional anatomy focused on the study of ligaments. Its founder, Josias Weitbrecht, wrote the first comprehensive manual of ligaments in 1742, giving this new area of interest a proper start and full attention. He described more than 90 connective tissues in the human body. The work was illustrated with 82 engravings which impress with their accuracy, quality, and attention to detail. The illustrations were done by three artists: Andreas Grecow and his two pupils, Gregorius Katschalow and Iohannes Sokolow.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Spotlight on Anatomy Collection

An allegorical engraving printed in Bartholin’s “Anatome.”

A newly acquired copy of “Anatome” by Thomas Bartholin is a welcome addition to the notable anatomy works in Falk Library’s Rare Book Collection. Published in Leyden in 1674, the library’s copy of the book is the de facto 4th edition of Bartholin’s Anatomy. It is Thomas’s revision of his father’s (Caspar Bartholin) anatomical work, which Thomas corrected, illustrated, and previously published in Leyden in 1641, 1645, and 1651.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Expanding the Gout and Rheumatism Collection

Antique books lined up so their spines are visible.
The first set of books received from the Osial Collection.

A generous gift is coming to the Rare Book Room at Falk Library. Dr. Thaddeus Osial is donating his extensive library of nearly 150 books on gout and rheumatism, which will expand and enhance Falk Library’s existing collection on the subject. When combined with current HSLS holdings, including the library of Dr. Gerald Rodnan, the incoming donation from Dr. Osial will cement the gout and rheumatism collection as the largest subject collection in the Rare Book Room.

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Treasures From the Rare Book Room: Is It Really About the Witchcraft?

Etching-style portrait of the author, with his name: Ioannes Wiervs
Etching portrait of Johann Weyer, author of “De praestigiis Daemonum”

“De praestigiis Daemonum” by Johann Weyer (Basil 1563)

This year is the 460th anniversary of the publishing of “De praestigiis Daemonum” (“On the Tricks of the Devil”), written by Dutch physician Johann Weyer (1515-1588). This book is one of the gems in our collection. Continue reading →

Treasures from the Rare Book Room: A New Look at 16th-Century Anatomy

Front cover of Anatomica Depicta, featuring gold geometric designs.
Front cover of the facsimile of Anatomica Depicta.

Falk Library’s facsimile of Anatomia depicta, published in Rome in 2010, replicates the original from the Florentine library. It is accompanied by a volume of commentaries (with transcription and translation of the manuscript), a wooden display case, and a protective plexiglass cover. It is the newest addition to HSLS Special Collections.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Fighting Smallpox

Open book laid flat, featuring printed text and a handwritten footnote in French.
Traité historique et pratique de l’inoculation, a book written in French and published in 1799. A handwritten footnote is shown on one of the book’s pages.

The authors of the historical and practical treatise on inoculation, Traité historique et pratique de l’inoculation (Paris 1799), were both champions of prophylaxis experimentation with preventive treatments for smallpox. Both were French physicians and military surgeons. Francois Dezoteux (1724-1803) participated in the War of the Austrian Succession. He established a school of military surgery in Paris, served as inspector of military hospitals, and studied the success of the Suttonian method of inoculation in England. Louis Valentin (1758-1829) served as military surgeon on Saint-Domingue (in present-day Haiti), but in 1793 he had to flee to the United States, where he was in charge of treating French sailors in hospitals in Virginia. While there, he gained experience in inoculation against smallpox.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Showing Some Love for Facsimiles

Falk Library has recently acquired facsimiles of two interesting medical manuscripts from the 14th century. Manuscripts, as unique objects, present a collecting challenge to both libraries and their patrons. Unlike books printed in multiple copies, manuscripts can only be in one geographic location—no matter who owns them. It is therefore impossible for other libraries to even dream of having the same manuscript. Since they can be so unreachable, the patrons who want to see and study manuscripts face barriers to access them, as well. Facsimiles—print books that are exact replicas of the originals—give patrons access not only to the intellectual content of the text, but also to the look and feel of the original manuscript. To libraries, facsimiles are a more affordable way of enriching the scope of their collections.

A page of the Chirurgia Albucasis facsimile showing miniature illustrations and gilded initial letters.

Falk Library’s two newest acquisitions are two surgical texts from the Middle Ages: Codex Vindobonensis and Manuscript Sloane.

Codex Vindobonensis SN 2641, Chirurgia Albucasis, the illuminated manuscript held by Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, was created in southern Italy in the second quarter of the 14th century. It was written earlier, in the ninth century, by Abu’l Qasim Halaf ibn Abbas al-Zahrawi (the court physician to the Caliph al-Hakam II), as part of his monumental thirty-volume medical encyclopedia. Only the parts on surgery in Al-Zahrawi’s encyclopedia were translated from Arabic to Latin by Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century. Continue reading →

Treasures from the Rare Book Room: A Complete Treatise on Childbirth Well-Valued in 18th-Century France

Guillaume Mauquest de la Motte was a surgeon-accoucheur. Accoucheurs were male surgeons specializing in childbirth, which became fashionable in 17th-century France as an alternative to the tradition of women as birth attendants. In the early 18th century, accoucheurs were at the center of a polemic by physician Philippe Hecquet, who wrote on the indecency of male birthing attendants. Guillaume Mauquest de la Motte, who responded with a defense of accoucheurs, argued that the skills and expertise that accoucheurs have are necessary to save both mother and child. This midwifery debate was more about whether physicians or surgeons are the best medical providers, rather than justifying or challenging the role of midwives. Change was coming. Only seven years later, the first school for surgeons opened in Paris in 1725, and from then on, surgeons’ training began to resemble the training of physicians.

Guillaume Mauquest de la Motte is also the author of one of the best treatises on childbirth (Traité complet des accouchements, 1721), which was also very popular and had multiple editions. Mauquest de La Motte (1655-1737) studied at the Hôtel-Dieu. After obtaining his degree, he returned to his native region of France and established a practice in Valognes in 1701. He became well known and sought after, because he gained a reputation among women for delivering babies safely. He attended to three or four deliveries daily, and he practiced surgery and obstetrics for more than fifty years. The books he published helped solidify his reputation, because his writing was grounded in his extensive experience. Continue reading →

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: “The Adventures of Dr. Comicus” and Clues to Identifying Missing Publication Details

“The Adventures of Doctor Comicus or The frolics of fortune; a comic satirical poem for the squeamish & the queer in twelve cantos” was written by A Modern Syntax in the 19th century. It is a satirical poem about the amusing misfortunes of a poor country doctor during his trip to find a wife and to escape life as the all-in-one village barber, doctor, schoolmaster, and sexton. Whether it was a dream or a real escapade, it ended with Doctor Comicus’s sobering observation that,

“Man in his eager haste to seize a bliss,

Which nature never destin’d should be his […]

He dreams of riches, grandeur, and a crown,

He wakes, and finds himself a simple clown.”

The author hiding under A Modern Syntax cleverly tied his pseudonym to the widely popular “Dr. Syntax” books, published between 1815 and 1828, that were written by William Combe and illustrated by famous British cartoonist Thomas Rowlandson. A Modern Syntax took advantage of the popularity that Dr. Syntax had earned as a hero through his peregrinations. At the same time, the original Dr. Syntax story was separated from the parody by using the label “modern.” A Modern Syntax introduced Doctor Comicus as a new hero who reaped the benefits of his predecessor’s fame. It was one of many imitations of Combe’s earlier parody.

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