Mercurialis, De Arte Gymnastica, 1573 (first illustrated ed)
Hieronymi Mercurialis De Arte Gymnastica Libri Sex, In quibus exercitationum omnium vetustarum genera, loca, modi, facultates, & quidquid deniq. ad corporis humani exercitationes pertinet, diligenter explicatur. Secunda editione aucti, & multis figuris ornati. Opus non modo medicis, verum etiam omnibus antiquarum rerum cognoscendarum, & valetudinis conservandae studiosis admondum utile. Ad Maximilianum II. Imperatorem. Venetiis apud Juntas, M D LXXIII. (1573).
Early mottled brown calf over boards, later rebacked a bit crudely. Boards stained and scuffed with leather lifting and with losses at corners and fore edge. Corners bumped and split. Hinges repaired. Penciled notes and book plate (Arthur P. Chadbourne) on front pastedown. Top corner of ffep absent. Bottom gutter damp stain affecting first two dozen pages (also page 129/30 at fore-edge. Variable toning and foxing. Much of text block quite bright, most affected at prelims and index leaves. Margins ample.
Ffep, blank, title - *6, A – B8, P3, C8, D10, E – S8, T10, V8, X6, blank, rfep.
Ffep, blank, title (10) 308 (24) blank x2, rfep.
With 22 plates and 1 figure.
Girolamo Mercuriale (1530-1606).
See Heirs 354: Mercuriale, professor of medicine at Bologna and Pisa, is probably best known to modern students of medical history for the present work, first published in 1569. It was the first complete text on gymnastics and stresses the importance that all forms of exercise have in maintaining good health. Relying heavily on ancient practices, this work is an excellent compendium of the physical therapy of earlier times. Mercuriale describes ancient gymnasia and baths and discusses mild exercises such as dancing as well as more strenuous pursuits such as wrestling and boxing. He also gives full consideration to the health benefits of proper exercise and concludes the book with a section of therapeutic exercises. The book contains many excellent wood-block illustrations of wrestling, boxing, and other sports."
See G-M 1986.1/4478.100 which calls for 20 woodcuts; ours has 23: " A history, based on extensive study of the classical literature, of the attitudes and practices of the Greeks and Romans concerning diet, hygiene, bathing, and exercise. This is one of the earliest books to discuss the therapeutic value of gymnastics and sports generally for the cure of disease and disability, and an important study of gymnastics in the ancient world.
The second edition, De arte gymnastica libri sex, Venice, Juntas, 1573, was the first illustrated book on gymnastics. It contains 20 unsigned woodcuts usually attributed to Christoph Lederer of Nuremberg, who assumed the name of Coriolanus after moving to Italy. These illustrations drawn by Pirro Ligorio "can now be shown to be the result of imaginative reconstruction, or straightforward forgery...unknown to his [Mercuriale's] readers, who assumed that images confirmed the truth of what Mercuriale had deduced from the evidence of texts.... The argument and illustrations in De arte gymnastica demonstrated the prime place of gymnastics in Greece and Rome, and later, convinced Winckelmann of the importance of nudity in Greek civilization and art" (Vivian Nutton, "Mercurale, Girolamo", Grafton et al (eds.), The classical tradition [2010] pp. 582-83.)
