Abregé de l'oeconomie du grand et petit monde, divisé en trois parties...
by Adrian Golles
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Lowell, Massachusetts, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
FOR PROVINCIAL SURGEONS --- [24], 255, 255-413, [17] p. | 12mo | ã^12 A-K^12 L^12(L7+chi1) M-R^12 S^12(-S11) | 142 x 90 mm --- First and only edition of the provincial surgeon's only book, a medical treatise blending the scientific and the spiritual. The author divides his work into three parts: (1) an overview of the various natural beings (estres naturels), including an examination of the soul; (2) a discussion of conception, the fetus, and birth, a comprehensive account that must have been useful for those tasked with delivery; and (3) a broad overview of the body and soul, which covers the heart, breathing, and blood circulation, in addition to some metaphysical topics. ¶ We learn from the preface that Golles has 40 years' experience as a surgeon, a dozen of them as surgeon to the poor (Chirurgien ordinaire des pauvres). He wrote the book for the benefit of his young colleagues, covering everything that should make a skilled surgeon (toutes les parties qui peuvent faire un habile Chirurgien), with the hope that they might keep it readily available in their bag (pochette). Not for those accustomed to the privileges attending the most elite practitioners, he intended his work "especially for those who do not understand the diversity of languages, or who do not have many books, or who are far from or deprived of the assistance of doctors, where they will find only a part of the little experience and knowledge that I have acquired in the academies and hospitals of the best cities in France" (a7r). The author gained ample experience treating severely wounded soldiers in Dieppe, injured in skirmishes with the English (a7v-a8r). From this, he's come to an opinion on what a good hospital requires: "a learned and experienced physician, as we have six or seven; a good surgeon; and a faithful apothecary" (a8v). ¶ Despite his chapters on the soul and his heavy reliance on ancient authorities, and despite at least one foot planted firmly in the humoral tradition, there's no doubt the author considered himself a man of science. The book is packed with anatomy and observation. He's familiar with the human body. His chapter on the circulation of blood opens with praise for William Harvey. He's no trailblazer, that's for sure, but he's something no less revealing: a cog in the sprawling early modern medical machine. If only he'd stayed in his lane and kept silent on astronomy, where his brief comments cite Ptolemy as the lone authority... ¶ A less common perspective on early modern medicine, drawn not from the bedsides and classrooms of one of Europe's great cities, but from personal experience in the northern reaches of provincial France. --- PROVENANCE: A single early marginal note on p. 343, admiring a passage in which the author compares the heart's role in the body to the sun's role in the universe. --- CONDITION: Contemporary limp parchment. ¶ Scattered mild soiling and dampstaining; first and last several leaves a bit ragged at the edges; dark stain in the lower inner corner at rear, affecting the index; final leaf nearly detached. Parchment soiled and cockled, with a little loss to the upper corner of the rear cover; front free endpaper tatty. --- REFERENCES: Catalogue of Printed Books in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London, 1976), v. 3, p. 133
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Details
- Bookseller
- Patrick Olson Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 00403
- Title
- Abregé de l'oeconomie du grand et petit monde, divisé en trois parties...
- Author
- Adrian Golles
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First and only
- Publisher
- François Vaultier the Younger
- Place of Publication
- Rouen
- Date Published
- 1670
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Patrick Olson Rare Books
We ship UPS or FedEx standard ground to the US and Canada. Default shipping method to other countries will be USPS Priority Mail International (7-11 business days) or USPS Priority Mail Express International (5-8 business days). All shipments are insured and include tracking information. We accept returns, for any reason, within 30 days of receipt. If your item was misdescribed, or if your return is otherwise due to our error, we will also cover the cost of return shipping. After 30 days, returns will be at our discretion. In all cases, returned books must be undamaged.
About the Seller
Patrick Olson Rare Books
Biblio member since 2019
Lowell, Massachusetts
About Patrick Olson Rare Books
We specialize in books from the hand-press period -- those days when Western books were printed and bound entirely by hand. While open to debate, we take this period to begin with Gutenberg (ca. 1454) and end around 1830. We offer a rotating selection of books that we hope you find interesting, important, or otherwise worthy of your consideration.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Parchment
- Pages or book covering made from a prepared animal skin. Parchment describes any animal skin used for books, while vellum is a...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Poor
- A book with significant wear and faults. A poor condition book is still a reading copy with the full text still readable. Any...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Soiled
- Generally refers to minor discoloration or staining.