Falloppio, Gabriele | First edition of lectures on mineral springs and fossils, Venice, 1564

Falloppio, Gabriele

De medicatis aquis, atque de fossilibus tractatus pulcherrimus, ac maxime utilis: ab Andrea Marcolino Fanestri medico ipsius discipulo amatissimo collectus. Venice: Ludovicus Avancius, 1564

4to (203 x 145 mm). Roman and italic types. Woodcut printer’s device on title-page, woodcut diagram of distilling apparatus, historiated woodcut initials; scattered light marginal dampstaining, wormtrail at upper inner corners of gatherings R–X. Contemporary vellum over pasteboards; a bit soiled.

First edition of two lectures given by Falloppio at the University of Padua in 1556 and 1557, published posthumously from lecture notes taken by Andreas Marcolini, one of his students.

The first, "De thermalibus aquis atque metallis," describes the medicinal properties of mineral spring waters; the second, "De metallis seu fossilibus," concerns geology and mineralogy, especially fossils. By the mid-sixteenth century, physicians, especially those following Paracelsus, regarded the physiological processes of the body as a series of chemical operations directly analogous to those taking place in the outside world. Potentially valuable "medical" substances included minerals and metals, as well as the long established botanical remedies. Falloppio followed Gesner in his use of the newly developed technique of distillation for the extraction of active materials, which included a discussion of fossil objects, as well as stones, for medical purposes. Falloppio also discusses the nature of the petrifying process; he states that there are a number of different kinds of fluids, a type of fermentation, to account for the physical properties of the major classes of fossils.

Falloppio was one of the foremost anatomists and physicians of the sixteenth century. He here criticizes earlier writers on mineral springs for their assertions as to the minerals found in the springs. There is also a lively discussion on whether thermal waters should or should not be drunk in leap years.

Avancius evidently shared the edition with another Venetian printer and publisher, Giordano Ziletti. All copies credit Avancius in the colophon, but a portion of the edition features Ziletti’s name and “Inter Omnes” device on the title-page.

REFERENCES

Adams F138; Cushing F222; Durling 1432; Edit16 18531; Heirs of Hippocrates 336; Osler 2563; Ward & Carozzi 772; Wellcome 2149 

PROVENANCE

George Milton Smith (booklabel)