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Propos d un Intoxiqu -
J. Boissi
1929 - Javal &, Paris - Limited edition. No 8 of 22 copies
Captivating autobiography of an Opium addict in the latter years of the 19th century in colonial French Indo-China.
Magnificently illustrated with 16 plates after water-colours by Fujita throughout the text together, each one line-lithographed by Prost and hand-coloured by Daniel Jacomet (with six additional full suites of the illustrations in various states, contained in the second volume - see below for full details).
Housed in original red silk clamshell case, lined with yellow silk, spine lettered in gilt, twin silk button closures.
More details
Price HK$ 38,000
1929 - Javal &, Paris - Limited edition. No 8 of 22 copies
Captivating autobiography of an Opium addict in the latter years of the 19th century in colonial French Indo-China.Magnificently illustrated with 16 plates after water-colours by Fujita throughout the text together, each one line-lithographed by Prost and hand-coloured by Daniel Jacomet (with six additional full suites of the illustrations in various states, contained in the second volume - see below for full details).
Housed in original red silk clamshell case, lined with yellow silk, spine lettered in gilt, twin silk button closures.
More details
Price HK$ 38,000
Medicina Gerocomica: Or, The Galenic Art of Preserving Old Men s Healths -
Sir John Floyer, Kt. of Lichfield, M.D.
1725 - Printed for J. Isted, London - Second Edition, corrected. To which is added, A Letter to the Honble Mr. Ch--- St--- Concerning the Regimen of the Health of the Younger Years and Adult, as Galen has describ&rsquo
The present book is considered the first English work dedicated to geriatric medicine.
Floyer ‘begins his preface by saying that "every man is a fool or becomes a physician, when he arrives at 40 or 50 years of age." Much of the book amounts to advocacy of a commonsense approach for preservation of the ageing body, with attention to fresh air, exercise, regular diet, and temperance in all things, especially alcohol and tobacco. When discussing the treatment of certain forms of ulceration he mentions that "rest and sleep and serenity of mind procure the sooner healing." He relaxes his spartan standards now that he is 74 himself and accepts that, instead of cold baths, hot water does sometimes have advantages.
Throughout his life Sir John had stressed the importance of physical exercise in promoting health. In Medicina Gerocomica, after giving a long list of activities that he thought too strenuous for old men, he mentions that "these are gentle exercises, sailing, pruning trees, riding, bowling, billiards, nine-pins, fishing, walking." The old men that were able to follow his advice must have enjoyed their declining years.’ – D. D. Gibbs, extract from the British Medical Journal, 1969.
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Price HK$ 8,000
1725 - Printed for J. Isted, London - Second Edition, corrected. To which is added, A Letter to the Honble Mr. Ch--- St--- Concerning the Regimen of the Health of the Younger Years and Adult, as Galen has describ&rsquo
The present book is considered the first English work dedicated to geriatric medicine.Floyer ‘begins his preface by saying that "every man is a fool or becomes a physician, when he arrives at 40 or 50 years of age." Much of the book amounts to advocacy of a commonsense approach for preservation of the ageing body, with attention to fresh air, exercise, regular diet, and temperance in all things, especially alcohol and tobacco. When discussing the treatment of certain forms of ulceration he mentions that "rest and sleep and serenity of mind procure the sooner healing." He relaxes his spartan standards now that he is 74 himself and accepts that, instead of cold baths, hot water does sometimes have advantages.
Throughout his life Sir John had stressed the importance of physical exercise in promoting health. In Medicina Gerocomica, after giving a long list of activities that he thought too strenuous for old men, he mentions that "these are gentle exercises, sailing, pruning trees, riding, bowling, billiards, nine-pins, fishing, walking." The old men that were able to follow his advice must have enjoyed their declining years.’ – D. D. Gibbs, extract from the British Medical Journal, 1969.
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Price HK$ 8,000
The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes -
John Gerarde, Thomas Johnson
1633 - Printed by: Adam Islip, London - Second Edition, Enlarged and Amended
A superb and rare complete folio of Gerarde’s monumental work on the history of plants, the most circulated and influential botanical work of the 17th century. This is the first edition to be enlarged by Thomas Johnson.
Describing over 2,800 of plants, and profusely illustrated with engraved title page by John Payne and a new set of 2,766 woodblock illustrations by Plantin, which were commissioned for this new edition. Thomas Johnson added several hundred new plants to this enlarged and amended edition which he significantly revised and edited, correcting many errors in the original text by Gerarde of whom he notes that ‘Our author here (as in many other places) knit knots somewhat intricate to loose.’ [1114]. Passages which Johnson substantially emended were marked with a dagger, and completely new ones with a double cross. Contributions by his friends John Parkinson, George Bowles, John Goodyear, and others are acknowledged by name. Many of the additions are based on Johnson’s own journeys. Another excellent addition by Johnson to Gerarde is a survey of the history of botany, the first such in English.
See page 1617 for two tups of ginger, which Johnson calls ‘True China’ and ‘Bastard China’ with details of how the Portuguese brought it back to Europe.
More details
Price HK$ 40,000
1633 - Printed by: Adam Islip, London - Second Edition, Enlarged and Amended
A superb and rare complete folio of Gerarde’s monumental work on the history of plants, the most circulated and influential botanical work of the 17th century. This is the first edition to be enlarged by Thomas Johnson.Describing over 2,800 of plants, and profusely illustrated with engraved title page by John Payne and a new set of 2,766 woodblock illustrations by Plantin, which were commissioned for this new edition. Thomas Johnson added several hundred new plants to this enlarged and amended edition which he significantly revised and edited, correcting many errors in the original text by Gerarde of whom he notes that ‘Our author here (as in many other places) knit knots somewhat intricate to loose.’ [1114]. Passages which Johnson substantially emended were marked with a dagger, and completely new ones with a double cross. Contributions by his friends John Parkinson, George Bowles, John Goodyear, and others are acknowledged by name. Many of the additions are based on Johnson’s own journeys. Another excellent addition by Johnson to Gerarde is a survey of the history of botany, the first such in English.
See page 1617 for two tups of ginger, which Johnson calls ‘True China’ and ‘Bastard China’ with details of how the Portuguese brought it back to Europe.
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Price HK$ 40,000
Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical -
Henry Gray F.R.S., Henry Vandyke Carter M.D. (illustrator)
1859 - Blanchard and Lea, Philadelphia - First American Edition
A superb copy, in the original publisher’s sheep binding and endpapers, the black spine label complete, binding without restoration or rebind, text and illustrations clean, no attempts to colour the illustrations, no handwriting. Rare as such.
Gray’s Anatomy, the book that brought the beauty of the human form to the masses, has remained a landmark text in medical study since its first appearance in print. The first edition, published in England in 1858, was found to have a good many errors, most of which were corrected in this, the first American edition. The corrections, improvements and new index are outlined in the publisher’s note at the beginning of the work.
Illustrated with 363 wood-engraved illustrations by Gray’s colleague and assistant, Henry Vandyke Carter.
‘The success of the book was not due to an absence of rivals. There were already several texts on anatomy... Gray's Anatomy, however, eclipsed all others, partly for its meticulous detail, partly for its emphasis on surgical anatomy, but most of all perhaps for the excellence of the illustrations, based on drawings by H. V. Carter [1831-97], who assisted Gray with the dissections, and engraved by Messrs Butterworth and Heath with remarkable skill. The design of the book, and the skill with which the illustrations were interpolated in the text, could hardly have been improved. For a man in his early thirties it was a remarkable achievement’ [ODNB].
More details
Price HK$ 65,000
1859 - Blanchard and Lea, Philadelphia - First American Edition
A superb copy, in the original publisher’s sheep binding and endpapers, the black spine label complete, binding without restoration or rebind, text and illustrations clean, no attempts to colour the illustrations, no handwriting. Rare as such.Gray’s Anatomy, the book that brought the beauty of the human form to the masses, has remained a landmark text in medical study since its first appearance in print. The first edition, published in England in 1858, was found to have a good many errors, most of which were corrected in this, the first American edition. The corrections, improvements and new index are outlined in the publisher’s note at the beginning of the work.
Illustrated with 363 wood-engraved illustrations by Gray’s colleague and assistant, Henry Vandyke Carter.
‘The success of the book was not due to an absence of rivals. There were already several texts on anatomy... Gray's Anatomy, however, eclipsed all others, partly for its meticulous detail, partly for its emphasis on surgical anatomy, but most of all perhaps for the excellence of the illustrations, based on drawings by H. V. Carter [1831-97], who assisted Gray with the dissections, and engraved by Messrs Butterworth and Heath with remarkable skill. The design of the book, and the skill with which the illustrations were interpolated in the text, could hardly have been improved. For a man in his early thirties it was a remarkable achievement’ [ODNB].
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Price HK$ 65,000
Healths Improvement: or, Rules Comprising and Discovering The Mature, Method, and Manner of Preparing all sorts of Food Used in this Nation. -
Thomas Muffett (Moffett), Christopher Bennet
1655 - Printed by Tho: Newcomb for Samuel Thornton, at the sign of the white Horse in Pauls Churchyard - First Edition
‘Written by that ever Famous Thomas Muffett, Doctor in Physick: Corrected and Enlarged by Christopher Bennet, Doctor in Physick, and Fellow of the Colledg of Physitians in London.’
Scarce first edition of this posthumous work, which André Simon said was “probably compiled about 1595. Some chapter headings will give an idea of the scope of this work, which is composed throughout in a gossipy and very readable style. ‘What Diet is’. ‘How it is to be chosen’. ‘Of Meats’. ‘Of the flesh of tame beasts’. ‘Of the flesh of wild fowl’ . . .”
From the collection of noted bibliophile and perfectionist, Brent Gration-Maxfield, with his neat pencil annotation to the front.
See page 154, where Muffett describes the flying fish he was shown by his friend Sir Francis Drake.
The work includes the important observation, made for the first time, that eating liver is beneficial to certain eye diseases. It also contains the first list of British wildfowl, and recognition of their migratory habits.
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Price HK$ 40,000
1655 - Printed by Tho: Newcomb for Samuel Thornton, at the sign of the white Horse in Pauls Churchyard - First Edition
‘Written by that ever Famous Thomas Muffett, Doctor in Physick: Corrected and Enlarged by Christopher Bennet, Doctor in Physick, and Fellow of the Colledg of Physitians in London.’Scarce first edition of this posthumous work, which André Simon said was “probably compiled about 1595. Some chapter headings will give an idea of the scope of this work, which is composed throughout in a gossipy and very readable style. ‘What Diet is’. ‘How it is to be chosen’. ‘Of Meats’. ‘Of the flesh of tame beasts’. ‘Of the flesh of wild fowl’ . . .”
From the collection of noted bibliophile and perfectionist, Brent Gration-Maxfield, with his neat pencil annotation to the front.
See page 154, where Muffett describes the flying fish he was shown by his friend Sir Francis Drake.
The work includes the important observation, made for the first time, that eating liver is beneficial to certain eye diseases. It also contains the first list of British wildfowl, and recognition of their migratory habits.
More details
Price HK$ 40,000