The first work on comparative anatomy focussing on the auditory and vocal organs

CASSERIO, Giulio Cesare (CASSERIUS, Iulius).

De Vocis Auditusque Organis Historia Anatomica. Tractatibus Duobus Explicata ac Variis Iconibus Aere Excusis Illustrata.

Ferrara: Victorius Valdinus, 1600.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Item #002332

1600-1601. Two parts in one volume. Folio (395 x 267 mm). [60], 191 [1]; 126, [2] pp. Signatures: a-b6 a-c4 d6 A-2A4; A-Q4. Colophon on 2A4v: Ferrariae: excudebat Victorius Baldinus typographus cameralis, 1601, and Q4r: Ferrariae: excudebat Victorius Baldinus typographus cameralis, sumptibus unicorum Patavii, 1600. Engraved title, 2 engraved portraits of the Duke of Parma and of the author, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, 34 full-page anatomical engravings (22 of the vocal organs, 12 of the auditory organs). Contemporary full vellum, faint lettering in ink on spine, vellum-reinforced corners (boards and spine browned and soiled, spine ends and joints repaired). Text and plates only little browned, minor spotting in places, occasional faint dampstains, small ink smudges on two pages, few ink notations, two previous ownership signatures on front endpaper. Provenance: Dr. J. B. Naftzger, Los Angeles. Fine wide-margined copy with excellent impressions on strong paper. ----

Norman 410; Choulant-Frank p. 223; Garrison-Morton 286; Grolier Medicine 24; Heirs of Hippocrates 397; NLM/Krivatsy 2199; Waller 1809; Wellcome 1333. - FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY DETAILED AND PENETRATING STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE ANATOMY.
Iulius Casserius (1552-1616) was professor at the University of Padua from 1609 until his death in 1616. "In 1609, the chair of surgery and anatomy was subdivided into one chair of anatomy, which remained to Fabricius, and one of surgery, which was assigned to Iulius Casserius from Piacenza. However, as happened in the past, Casserio also replaced Fabricius in anatomical demonstrations when the older master was absent or ill. Casserius' family was very poor and he moved to Padua probably as a servant to some student (Sterzi, 1910; Riva et al., 2001). In Padua, he became assistant to Hieronymus Fabricius ab Aquapendente [...] However, Casserius took his degree in medicine and philosophy, probably in about 1580 [...] and first began to give private lectures on anatomy. Fierce rivalry developed between Fabricius and Casserius, and finally led to the separation of a chair of anatomy and a chair of surgery [...] In 1614, Casserius was also made a Knight of St. Mark. (A. Porzionato et al., The Anatomical School of Padua. The Anatomical Record, Vol. 295, no. 6, 2012, p.908).
De Vocis is the first book that "focuses on studies of the vocal apparatus of mammals (dogs, cats, cows, etc.), birds, amphibians, and insects such as the grasshopper, cicada and the like. It also provides the first accurate description of the laryngeal muscles and nerves. The second book features the structure of the ear, and "contains the first clear description of the ossicles, comparative studies of the auditory ossicles of various animals, and anatomical descriptions of the inner ear that were far more accurate than any given before, as well as a detailed account of the external ear muscles." (Grolier/Medicine).
De Vocis is "a masterpiece of book illustration and the most beautiful book ever published on the ear and throat in man and in lower animals". "Casseri [...[ investigated the structure of the auditory and vocal organs in most of the domestic animals. The book includes a description of the larynx more accurate than that of any previous author" (Garrison-Morton).
"Medical historians rank the accuracy and artistry of the illustrations in this and other works of Casserio in the same category as those of Vesalius, with Casserio setting the standard in copperplates as Vesalius had done with woodcuts" (Eimas, Heirs of Hippocrates).

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