DE SIMPLICIBUS MEDICINIS LAXATIVIS

Kobenhavn: Vilhelm Priors Kgl. Hofboghandel, 1914.. 1914.. Very good. LIMITED EDITION OF 500 COPIES - THOUGH NOT CALLED FOR, THIS COPY INSCRIBED & SIGNED BY J.W.S. JOHNSSON - Quarto, 10-3/8 inches high by 7-7/8 inches wide. Original printed gray wrappers bound into three-quarter green cloth & marbled boards with a gilt-titled calf label on the spine. The leather label is scuffed and the gilt partially rubbed away. The edges of the covers are rubbed with slight wear to the boards. 98 pages, illustrated with 2 facsimiles. The edges of the pages are slightly darkened and the leaves are lightly toned. Very good. <p>Limited edition of 500 numbered copies. Though not called for, this copy is inscribed and signed by J.W.S. Johnsson on the half-title.<p>The text is in Latin with a Danish preface, notes and commentary.<p>The Danish medical doctor, John William Schibbye Johnsson (1868-1929) is best known for his works on the history of medicine and folklore. In 1907, he co-founded the medical museum in Copenhagen. He sat on the board of the Danish Folk Museum and later also co-founded the Danish Medical-Historical Society. He published numerous articles on the history of medicine and also published little known manuscripts from the middle ages, including Henricus Dacus' Latin manuscript on laxatives.<p>Little is known about the life of Henrik Harpestreng (Henricus Dacus), with the exception that a couple of sixteenth and seventeenth century sources mention that he died in 1244. Fifteenth century manuscripts further mention him as having treated the Danish King Erik (1241-1251). He authored the "Liber Herbarum" and a medical book "De Simplicibus Medicinis Laxativis", which enumerates 35 herbs in alphabetical order with recipes for purgative medicines and their exact doses. There is also a passage with advice on dosage, uses and storage of the medicine.<p>RARE in commerce.