Not long ago, the Wall Street Journal reported on the “hot market” for rare early medical texts, citing a 1555 edition of “De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem” by a Flemish physician that sold last year for $2.2 million (high Estimated value: $1.2 million). In fact, there is little market for these historical encyclopedias, anatomy atlases, and surgical manuals That Popular, just because there aren’t enough early version books like Francisco Bravo medical operaNicolò Gervasi Antidote and William Harvey’s Demotukodis Go shopping. (Only one copy medical operathe first medical text printed in America, retains its original printing. ) It is noteworthy that copies of the Fabrica, worth millions, were annotated by Vesalius himself.
However, there is no shortage of less rare, less annotated, and poorly preserved early medical texts on the market, at varying prices—good news if you want to start a collection. If you do get started, you’ll be in good company. In a 1985 article by rare book dealer Jeremy M. Norman medical heritagewrites that “the modern penchant for collecting first and early editions of the classics of medical history” can be traced back to the father of modern medicine, Sir William Oursler, whose 7,600-volume library became the property of McGill upon his death. University owned. Other famous collectors include pioneering neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing and Swedish surgeon Erik Waller, whose troves of medical books were so vast that his Wikipedia bracket It’s not “doctor” but “collector”.
You don’t have to study medicine to start buying historical medical texts, although it might make building a library that much sweeter. Dr. Eugene Flamm, a renowned cerebrovascular neurosurgeon, has been collecting for 60 years. His first collection was a Vesalius book he purchased during his residency. This work This sparked a lifelong passion for collecting antiquarian books documenting the history of anatomy, medicine, and surgery. He believed that the importance of early medical documents was multifaceted: historical importance, scientific importance, and cultural importance.
“Learning about the kind things that were done for patients three, four or five hundred years ago can give us insight into our current achievements and shortcomings,” he told the Observer. “Of course, these books don’t offer today’s Any information about performing surgery, but even now they do provide an understanding and an honest understanding of the limitations of complex surgeries. Beyond that, they are often beautiful objects from a time when printing was in its infancy and seemed not to be in its infancy. .
The former president of the Grolier Club of New York bibliophiles has collected thousands of books over the years, documenting what he calls humanity’s “scientific and intellectual milestones.” He said in no uncertain terms that books should be viewed as an intellectual investment, not a financial investment. The budding collector should first become interested in a subject and then explore it according to his or her own means and willingness to learn.
But while many collectors with adult bookshelves bequeath their libraries en masse to universities or other institutions in an effort to end personal pursuits of knowledge, Dr. Frum, 88, has different ideals for the future of his collection.
“I have always wanted to bring my collection back to the market so that young collectors have the opportunity to buy early books and live with them,” he said. He added that Christie’s auctions will begin online on January 14 and run until January 28, which is the first step in implementing the plan. “If all books were institutionalized, we would kill the spirit and importance of collectors.”
Among the 230 lots in the sale of Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, including the United States, is Incunabula from the Eugene S. Flamm Collection: Encyclopedia, Bibliography, History, Medical Illustrations, Early printing examples of scientific works and other texts. This is the first and only edition of Ludovicus animal clover (High Estimate: $12,000), comes with a woodcut of the brain by artist Albrecht Dürer. This is the first illustrated edition of Mundinus human anatomy (High Estimate: $20,000), a work that reintroduced the concept of anatomy. and Jacobs de Dantes Simple Medical Aggregator (High Estimate: $120,000), this is one of the earliest texts devoted entirely to medicine.
Other works in Dr. Fram’s collection include works by Pliny the Elder natural history (High estimate of $15,000 for the third edition; $150,000 for the first Italian edition), Albert Magnus poverty philosophy (High Estimate: $20,000) and Bartholomaeus Anglicus Property rights (High estimate: $100,000).
Dr. Fram has curated numerous public exhibitions of works from his collection at venues such as Johns Hopkins University and the Grolier Club. When dreaming of texts, his answers are vague but resonate with enthusiasm.
