Lot 1137
1137
MATTHIOLUS, P.A. Commentarii secundo aucti, in libros VI Pedacii Dioscoridis Anazarbei de Medica Materia. His accessit eiusdem Apologia adversus Amathum Lusitanum. Venice, V. Valgrisius, 1558. 2 in vol. (50) lvs, 776 pp; (25) lvs. W. well over 600 very fine woodcuts in text. Fol. 19th c. hcf. (Small rep. to v° 1r6 and 1s2, a bit stained in places (prelims and in l. 2Z3), traces of use (slight soiling/thumbing throughout), last blank not present, but altog. a very reasonable copy).
Second revised edition in Latin of the 'Discorsi' (first Latin ed. 1554), one of the classics of medical botany which appeared in a long series of editions. It includes the Latin translation of Dioscorides's 'De Medica Materia' which Mattioli expanded on Dioscorides' original text, providing detailed descriptions, botanical identification, and medicinal uses for hundreds of plants, including new species not originally known to Dioscorides. The work acts as an encyclopedia, discussing the therapeutic properties of plants, animals, and minerals to cure diseases. This specific edition (1558) is famous for its extensive, high-quality woodcut illustrations, which were used to aid in the identification of plants. Book 6 deals with all kinds of poison - 'de lethalibus venenis'. The 'Apologia' is is a polemical work in which Mattioli attacks the Jewish-Portuguese physician Amatus Lusitanus. - EDIT16 37867; Nissen, BBI, 1305; Durling 385; Adams D-667; Pritzel 5985.€ 1000
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