Entzelt, Christoph | First edition of De re metallica

Entzelt, Christoph

De re metallica, hoc est, de origine, varietate, & natura corporum metallicorum, lapidum, gemmarum, atque; aliarum, quae ex fodinis eruuntur, rerum, ad medicinae, usum deservientium, libri III. Frankfurt: Christian Engenolph, [1551]

8vo (155 x 96 mm). Woodcut vignette of altar and heart on title, woodcut initials, five in-text woodcut illustrations, three folding tables, contemporary marginal annotations; worming to G1-H8 costing several letters, lacking blank final blank (R8). Twentieth-century half morocco and marbled paper-covered boards; light rubbing to extremities.

First edition. Entzelt's "attempt to record all worth knowing about medical virtues ascribed to metals, stones, gems, salts, and other mineral substances" (Sinkankas). Leaf α2 contains a printed letter by Philipus Melanchthon—the name is struck through in ink by an early hand—to Egenolph, endorsing the work.

REFERENCES

Adams E-188; Ferguson I:240; Sinkankas 1905

PROVENANCE

Illinois Institute of Technology (Christie's New York, 25 February 2003, lot 55)