De re medica, octo libri eruditissimi . . . Q. Sereni Samonici praecepta medica . . . Q. Remnii Fannii . . . de ponderibus et mensuris. 2 parts in one volume by CELSUS, Aurelius Cornelius - 1538

Solingen: Johannes Soter, 1538. Soft cover. Very Good. Soft cover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (160 x 101 mm). [8], 337 (i. e., 339) [1]; [8], 30, [2] leaves. Signatures: A8 a-z8 A-T8 V4 2A8; A-D8 including blanks A7-8, V4, and ²D8. Woodcut initials, separate title-page to second part. Contemporary limp vellum with yapp edges, spine title in ink, additionally lettered in ink on bottom edge (vellum soiled and spotted, minor wear to extremities, lacking ties). Text somewhat browned (stronger to gathering B), occasional spotting, scored contemporary signature in lower margin of title, occasional ink markings and manuscript annotation, small wormtrack at top blank margin of gatherings i-l (affecting one headline letter). Very good, well-margined copy in untouched original binding. ---- NLM/Durling 912; Wellcome b11208831 (fragment, first 28 leaves only); B. M. German STC p. 189, not in Waller. VERY RARE EARLY EDITION of Celsus' De Re Medica by the first printer in Solingen, Johannes Soter who moved from Cologne to Solingen in 1536 where he started operation of a papermill and printing in 1537. He published about 30 books between 1537 and 1543, mainly of humanistic and medical subjects. The Celsus is one of the earliest books printed by him. "The De Medicina is the oldest medical document after the Hippocratic writings. Written about AD 30 it remains the greatest medical treatise from ancient Rome and the first Western history of medicine. Celsus's superb literary style won him the title of Cicero medicorum. De medicina deals with diseases treated by diet and regimen and with those amenable to drugs and surgery. The manuscript . . . was lost during the Middle-Ages and re-discovered in Milan in 1443." (Garrison-Morton, 20). Celsus' work has gone through many editions, translations, expansions, and adaptations since its first appearance in print in Florence in 1478. Visit our website to see more images!