LE FORESTIER, Thomas (d. before 1513). Contre pestilentiam: Le régime contre epidemie et pestilence. Rouen: Jacques Le Forestier, 21 October 1495.

Enlarge & Zoom

Price Realized

£5,250 (Set Currency)
($8,117)

Estimate

£4,000 - £6,000
($6,100 - $9,000)

Sale Information

Sale 5334 —
Valuable Printed Books and Manuscripts
13 June 2012
London, King Street
Contact the Department >

Overview
Features

Lot Description

LE FORESTIER, Thomas (d. before 1513). Contre pestilentiam: Le régime contre epidemie et pestilence. Rouen: Jacques Le Forestier, 21 October 1495.

Chancery 4° (196 x 134mm). Collation: a-d⁸^.⁶ e-f⁸ g⁴ (a1r title with woodcut, a1v woodcut repeated, a2r text.) 44 leaves (of 48, lacking final quire). 29-30 lines. Type: 190G, 98B. 20th-century pastepaper boards. Provenance: a few early marginal annotations.

ONE OF ONLY 4 KNOWN COPIES OF THE FIRST EDITION IN FRENCH. Le Forestier compiled his treatise for the ordinary populace, not the medical profession. It treats in particular of hygiene, stressing the importance of clear air and pure water, but also discusses food (eggs, bread, etc.) and wine as well as a medical regimen. In keeping with late medieval medical thinking, astrological influences are discussed. The other known copies are all in France: 2 in the Bibliothèque nationale (one imperfect) and one at Grenoble. This is variant A, with the title woodcut repeated on the verso. H 7233; CIBN L-89; Pell 7081 (7032); Maignien, Grenoble 360; Klebs 594.1; Klebs and Droz, Rémedes contre la Peste, 68.