Milestones of Science Books

SENNERT, Daniel.

De Scorbuto Tractatus Danielis Sennerti ... ; cui accesserunt ejusdem argumenti tractatus & epistolae Balduini Ronssei, Johannis Echthii, Johannis Wieri, Johannis Langii, Salomonis Alberti, Matthaei Martini.

Wittenberg: Zacharias Schurer, 1624.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #004095

8vo (170 x 103 mm). [16], 230, [12], 232-353, [19], 354-417, 458-540, [1], 541-553, 556-573, [2], 574-755 [22] pp. Final leaf with errata on recto and woodcut device with colophon on verso (Wittbergae : Impressum typis Jobi Wilhelmi Fincelii, anno MDCXXIV); woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces, 2 full-page woodcut illustrations, index bound at end. Signatures: ):(⁸ A-Z⁸ Aa-Zz⁸ Aaa-Bbb⁸. Leaf P4 is a blank. The tracts by Ronssei, Alberto and Martini have separate title page but pagination of main body text is continuous. Bound in contemporary (original) blind-stamped vellum, hand-lettered spine, blue-dyed edges, original endpapers (minor dust-soiling of vellum, a trifle wear to extremities). Light even browning internally, occasional very minor spotting; contemporary annotations in neat ink at beginning. Provenance: Magistrat zu Langensalza (old stamp with coat of arms on title-page, p.592 and p.604). A very good copy in unrestored original binding. ----

FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST COLLECTION OF WRITINGS ON SCURVY, with recipes and preventive measures, introduced and edited by Daniel Sennert (1572-1637), personal physician to Elector Johann Georg of Saxony. It contains the first edition of Sennert's important treatise on scurvy and other previously published works on the disease. The work constitutes the earliest attempt to present the leading opinions on the nature of the disorder in a single volume. "Sennert's treatise on scurvy remained authoritative for many years" (Norman 1930).
The previously published works were authored by Balduinus Ronsseus (observing a connection between oranges and lemons in the diet and recovery), Johann Echt, Johann Wier (including two woodcut illustrations of lemon scurvy grass), Johann Lange, Salomon Alberti (providing recipes for treatments of the disorder), and Matthäus Martini (discussing symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and preventable measures of the disease).
Born at Breslau in Poland, Sennert studied at Wittenberg before becoming professor there in 1601. "His views are difficult to evaluate because he attempted to reconcile the theories of Aristotle, Galen, Paracelsus, and the atomists" (Eimas). A defender of the humoral pathology of Galen, Sennert was not only strongly rooted in the ancient traditions of medicine but also believed in witchcraft. He is noted for his early descriptions of scarlet fever and rubella, and for his writings on scurvy, dysentry, and alcoholism.
Bibliography & references: Norman 1930; Garrison-Morton-Norman 61 (note citing the reprint of this treatise in his Opera of 1676); NLM/Krivatsy 10925; Eimas, Heirs of Hippocrates 404. - Visit our website to see more images!

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