Ovio, L’Oculistica Di Antonio Scarpa E Due Secoli Di Storia, 1936 (inscribed)
Giuseppe Ovio Senatore Del Regno Professore D’Oftalmologia Alla R. Universita Di Roma L’Oculistica Di Antonio Scarpa E Due Secoli Di Storia. Sumptibus suis et labore. Vol. I & II. Napoli Casa Editrice Libraria V. Idelson MCMXXXVI – XIV.
Two green cloth bound volumes with gold text on spines and front boards. Mild scuffs and scratches of boards. Scattered small stains of page edges. Green end papers. A few prior dealers’ notes on end papers. Inscribed by Ovio on half title of vol 1. Clean, bright, and tight throughout both volumes. Multiple black and white figures.
The Biographical Dictionary of Friulans gives the following about Ovio: He was born in Polcenigo (Pordenone) on March 7, 1863. After graduating in medicine from the University of Padua, he became assistant to Pietro Gradenigo, director of the ophthalmology clinic, a position he held for fifteen years. “In 1910 he took up service as full professor of ophthalmology and ophthalmology clinic in Siena and, subsequently, in Modena and Genoa (1912). He returned to Padua in 1926, but remained there for only three years, having been called to direct the ophthalmology clinic in Rome after the death of Giuseppe Cirincione.” He published several books: The Science of Colors (1927), the volume Anatomy and Physiology of the Eye in the Animal Series (1925), History of Ophthalmology (1951), L'ottica di Euclide (1918), Oculistica di Antonio Scarpa e due secoli di storia (1936) and Giovanni Battista Morgagni nella storia dell'oculistica (1923). His Manual of Practical Ophthalmology went into five editions. “He was president of the Italian Ophthalmological Society, of the Foundation for Ophthalmological Studies and for Ocular Prophylaxis and represented the country several times in international ophthalmology congresses. In 1934 he was appointed senator and served on the Commission for National Education and Popular Culture (17 April 1939 – 5 August 1943) and the High Court of Justice Judgment Commission (17 April 1939 – 5 August 1943). He died in Rome the December 10, 1957.”
For Scarpa’s own original book on the eye, see Heirs 1106: Antonio Scarpa (1752-1832): “This classic work on ophthalmology remained the standard text for several decades, going through several editions and translations. It established Scarpa's reputation as a leading ophthalmologist and is especially notable for its copperplate engravings of the anatomy of the eye, drawn by the anatomist.” It was also translated into English, and we have a copy in available.
