Milestones of Science Books

BAUDELOCQUE, Jean Louis.

L'art des accouchemens.

Paris: Mequignon, 1781.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #002012

2 volumes, 8vo (190-194x120-125 mm). [i-iv] v-lvi, [1] 2-610; [i-v] vi-xvi, [1] 2-422 pp., including half titles and 14 engraved folding plates by Jean-Jacques Avril (5 in first and 9 in second volume). Contemporary mottled calf, spines richly gilt with morocco label gilt (outer front hinge of second volume cracked, spines and boards rubbed, corners bumped), red-dyed edges, slight deviation in size of book blocks and covers and thus appearance of spines, but both volumes certainly from the same binder. Marbled endpapers, text and plates with minor toning and occasional spotting, a few ink markings to fore margin and a few small wormholes to lower margin of first volume, little browning of plate margins in second volume. ----

Norman 138; Garrison-Morton 6255; Heirs of Hippocrates 115; Blake/NLM 34; Wellcome II, p.115. - FIRST EDITION. "Baudelocque is associated with the technique of pelvic mensuration, the principles of which had been developed by Smellie... He invented a pelvimeter, and taught that the antero-posterior diameter of the pelvis could be reliably estimated by measuring the external conjugate of the pelvis, now usually referred to as 'Baudelocque's diameter.' This doctrine held sway until the advent of x-rays, which revealed its inadequacy." (Norman 138).

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