Eye Surgery in the 16th Century George Bartisch (1535-ca. 1607). Ophthalmodouleia; das is, Augendienst. [Dresen: Matthes Stoeckel], 1583. [28] 274 [83] ll., illus., port. The mere thought of eye surgery without benefit of modern anesthesia is enough to evoke severe shuddering. Yet, for hundreds of years, various operations were performed on the eyes in thisContinue reading “Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room”

A “Miserable Little Book” William Harvey’s De Motu Cordis (“On the Motion of the Heart and Blood”) During an interview conducted a decade ago, Dr. John Martin referred to William Harvey’s De Motu Cordis (“On the Motion of the Heart and Blood”) as “a miserable little book…only 68 pages, printed on terrible paper with onlyContinue reading “Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room”

Pietro da Cortona Imgages The Hardin Library has recently completed a project that allows a series of early 17th century anatomical images to be viewed from anywhere on the globe. Pietro da Cortona, a noted Italian painter and architect of the high baroque renaissance fashioned a superb series of 27 drawings around 1618 that wereContinue reading “Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room”

Touching for the King’s Evil Andre Du Laurens (1558-1609). Des mirabili strumas sanandi vi solis Galliae regibus christianissimis divinitus concessa liber unus. Paris: Apud Marcum Orry, 1609. [xv] 307 (misnumbered 293), [18] pp., fold. Plate. 17.5 Limp vellum. During the Middle Ages, tuberculosis of the lymph glands of the neck was very common and wasContinue reading “Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room”

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”