![AVICENNA (c.985-1037). Canon medicinae. Translated from Arabic into Latin by Gerardus Cremonensis (c.1114-1187) and edited by Petrus Rochabonella. - De viribus cordis. Translated into Latin by Arnoldus de Villa Nova. Padua: [Johannes Herbort, de Seligenstadt], 19 August-6 November 1479.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2003/CKS/2003_CKS_06704_0032_000(054428).jpg?w=1)
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AVICENNA (c.985-1037). Canon medicinae. Translated from Arabic into Latin by Gerardus Cremonensis (c.1114-1187) and edited by Petrus Rochabonella. - De viribus cordis. Translated into Latin by Arnoldus de Villa Nova. Padua: [Johannes Herbort, de Seligenstadt], 19 August-6 November 1479.
Royal 2° (400 x 270mm). Collation: a8 b-f10 g6 h2; i10 k8 l-o10 p6; H6 A-D10 E8 F10 G 2H8 I K12 L-O8 OP10 P Q8 R10; S4] aa-ee10 ff-hh8 ii12; kk12 ll10 mm6; nn6 oo8 (a1 blank, a2r liber primus, g6r first colophon, g6v blank, [h1r] index; i1r liber secundus, p6v second colophon; H1 blank, H2r index to book three, A1r liber tertius, R10r third colophon, R10v blank; S1r blank, S1v index to book four, S4v blank, aa1r liber quartus, ii12r fourth colophon, ii12v blank; kkir liber quintus, mm6r fifth colophon, mm6v blank; nn1r De viribus cordis, oo2r sixth colophon, oo2v index of Arabic terms, oo8r register, oo8v blank). 433 leaves (of 434, without a1 blank; h2] bound before a2). 63 lines, double column. Type: 92G. 2- to 10-line initial spaces with guide letters. Books I and III-V each with illuminated 10-line opening initial by a Ferrarese artist: intial 'I' on a2r in the form of a dolphin, blue on a burnished gold ground with pink and green infills, and left-hand border of pink and blue flower heads, gold discs and concentric scrolling penwork; lower margin with laurel wreath and border of similar forms, coat-of-arms not supplied. Three other initials on A1r, aa1r, and kk1r illuminated in blue, pink and green on gold ground with extensions into margin. Smaller initials supplied in red or blue. (h1-2 repaired at margins, a2r with two small stains slightly affecting the illumination, some generally light staining and soiling, more particuarly affecting l8v-m1r, p4v-p5r, A5-6 and quire G, burn mark on m9.) 16th-century German blindstamped pigskin over pasteboard by 'S.R.' [Haebler I, p. 390, see below], with panel of Justice dated S.R. 1564 ['S 1564 R'] and of Judith and Holofernes dated S.R. 1571 ['15 S.R. 71'] on upper and lower cover, both panels with legend beneath, surrounded by a medallion roll, a border of biblical scenes with legends, and a wide crested roll, spine in five compartments with raised bands and parchment lettering-piece, red speckled edges (some soiling and scuff marks, ties lacking). Provenance: [?]Stephan Rabe (binding) -- Joannes Michelus 'Torgensis,' doctor of medicine (ownership inscription, dated 15 June [15]93 and with 2-line quotation from Pliny, on h1r; frequent marginal annotations in his hand) -- Joannes Paulus Haid M.D. (ownership inscription, dated 1650, on h1r; some annotations in his hand) -- Krems Piarist College (inscription, dated 1732, on front free endpaper; further 1817 inscription at head of a2r).
THIRD EDITION of a work which codified Aristotelian and Muslim medical knowledge. Avicenna's Canon drew on the teaching of Galen, Hippocrates and Aristotle, but also contained many personal observations. Physician and vizier to several caliphs in the Persian city of Isfahan, Avicenna realised that illnesses like tuberculosis and dysentry are communicable, and commented on the hereditary nature of certain conditions including 'premature baldness and gout.' He contributed much to the final book on the composition and preparation of drugs. In its Latin translation the Canon became the recognised authority on medicine in all medieval universities, superseding the medical encylopedia of Rhazes. The first printed edition was by Philippus de Lavagnia (Milan, 1473). Johannes Herbort published the second edition (Padua, 1476) as well as the present third edition in which the five books of the Canon are dated: I) 19 August 1479 II) 27 August 1479 III) 27 October 1479 IV & V) [undated]; De viribus cordis, Avicenna's treatise on the heart, is dated 6 November 1479. Herbort, also called 'Magnus' or 'Grandis' of Seligenstadt in Hesse, specialised in the production of very large books of which his Avicenna, printed in law text type with mostly double-crossed capitals, is a pre-eminent example (at the end of 1480 he left Padua for Venice to work for the De Colonia-Jenson partnership).
THIS COPY IS FINELY-ILLUMINATED AND WITH MANUSCRIPT ANNOTATIONS BY A 16TH-CENTURY PHYSICIAN. The four illuminated initials are undoubtedly by a Ferrarese artist working in the style of Gulielmo Geraldi and his workshop. The annotations of Joannes Michelus Torgensis indicate passages he clearly found of particular use or value in his profession. The 'S.R.' monogram on the 16th-century binding may either refer to the binder or to an earlier owner; Haebler believes that the binder may be Severin Rötter, but also suggests that 'S.R.' could be the ownership mark of Stephan Rabe. The Jesuit and later Piarist college at Krems became a grammar school in 1616. At the period when this book entered the college library, its value as a medical authority would have been in decline; one can speculate that it remained in the library until 1871 when the community was dispersed and the grammar school taken over by the state. Today this great book is a potent reminder of the fact that, only during the Renaissance, did Western physicians gain direct access to the medical writings of the ancient Greeks. HC*2202; BMC VII, 917; GW 3117; IGI 1117; IDL 597; Klebs 131.5; Osler (IM) 180; Wellcome I, 569; Stillwell Awakening III, 290; cf. Grolier Medicine p. 32 and PMM 11; Goff A-1419.
Royal 2° (400 x 270mm). Collation: a
THIRD EDITION of a work which codified Aristotelian and Muslim medical knowledge. Avicenna's Canon drew on the teaching of Galen, Hippocrates and Aristotle, but also contained many personal observations. Physician and vizier to several caliphs in the Persian city of Isfahan, Avicenna realised that illnesses like tuberculosis and dysentry are communicable, and commented on the hereditary nature of certain conditions including 'premature baldness and gout.' He contributed much to the final book on the composition and preparation of drugs. In its Latin translation the Canon became the recognised authority on medicine in all medieval universities, superseding the medical encylopedia of Rhazes. The first printed edition was by Philippus de Lavagnia (Milan, 1473). Johannes Herbort published the second edition (Padua, 1476) as well as the present third edition in which the five books of the Canon are dated: I) 19 August 1479 II) 27 August 1479 III) 27 October 1479 IV & V) [undated]; De viribus cordis, Avicenna's treatise on the heart, is dated 6 November 1479. Herbort, also called 'Magnus' or 'Grandis' of Seligenstadt in Hesse, specialised in the production of very large books of which his Avicenna, printed in law text type with mostly double-crossed capitals, is a pre-eminent example (at the end of 1480 he left Padua for Venice to work for the De Colonia-Jenson partnership).
THIS COPY IS FINELY-ILLUMINATED AND WITH MANUSCRIPT ANNOTATIONS BY A 16TH-CENTURY PHYSICIAN. The four illuminated initials are undoubtedly by a Ferrarese artist working in the style of Gulielmo Geraldi and his workshop. The annotations of Joannes Michelus Torgensis indicate passages he clearly found of particular use or value in his profession. The 'S.R.' monogram on the 16th-century binding may either refer to the binder or to an earlier owner; Haebler believes that the binder may be Severin Rötter, but also suggests that 'S.R.' could be the ownership mark of Stephan Rabe. The Jesuit and later Piarist college at Krems became a grammar school in 1616. At the period when this book entered the college library, its value as a medical authority would have been in decline; one can speculate that it remained in the library until 1871 when the community was dispersed and the grammar school taken over by the state. Today this great book is a potent reminder of the fact that, only during the Renaissance, did Western physicians gain direct access to the medical writings of the ancient Greeks. HC
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