Sixteenth Century Field Surgery Opening Hans von Gersdorff’s, Feldtbuch der Wunderartzney to this illustration leaves little doubt as to the subject matter at hand. This early, “Field-book of wound surgery” is one of the most important works on 16th century surgery. Gersdorff (1455-1529) was a military surgeon whose writings are based primarily on his ownContinue reading “Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room”

Plagiarism in the 17th Century! The John Martin Rare Book Room recently acquired the first edition of William Cowper’s The anatomy of humane bodies (1698), one of the most controversial books in the history of medicine. Cowper (1666-1709), a renowned British surgeon and anatomist used copies of the 114 elegant plates already published by GovardContinue reading “Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room”