Ferri, Alfonso:

$6,500 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

DE LIGNI SANCTI MULTIPLICI MEDICINA ET VINI EXHIBITIONE. First edition of this landmark treatise on the medicinal applications of the guaiacum tree, a species native to the Americas and introduced to Europe after the discovery. This copy shows enticing signs of early readership, being annotated throughout, and also includes several manuscript pages of related material at the end.De ligni sancti is one of the earliest medical works dedicated to guaiacum ("lignum sanctum," the holy wood), which was first described by Ulrich von Hutten in his De guaiaci medicina et morbo gallico (1519). Ferri describes the tree and where to find it, noting that "many of the newly discovered islands produce it" and recommending the variety growing in San José as preferable. The treatise provides instructions on its preparation for medical purposes: the bark of the tree is ground into powder and boiled to create a syrup-like infusion. At the beginning of the 16th century, this was the most common treatment for syphilis, which Ferri describes in detail. In the book, however, Ferri lists and briefly describes many more illnesses or health concerns that can be cured with guaiacum, including headache, insomnia, memory loss, melancholy, vertigo, epilepsy, paralysis, bad breath, hernia, sterility, and ulcers.The most innovative section of the treatise is Ferri's introduction of a new method of preparing guaiacum, using wine instead of water. Explained towards the end of the work, this method is consider

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