Tulp, Observationes Medicae, 1652
Nicolai Tulpii Amstelredamensis Observationes Medicae. Editio nova, libro quarto auctior, et sparsim multis in locis emendatior. Amstelredami, Apud Ludovicum Elzevirium A°. 1652.
Early (original?) full brown mottled leather over boards with later respine and repairs to corners. Early (original?) spine label retained. Raised bands on spine. Leather scuffed. Corners variably bumped and chipped. Later end papers with prior dealer’s pencil annotation on ffep. Joints/hinges strong. Green ribbon page marker. Decorative capitals. Toning is minimal and mostly marginal. Otherwise clean, bright, and tight throughout.
Ffep, blank, title (14) 403, blank x2, rfep (18 plates, 1 figure at pg 259)
Ffep, blank, *8, A-Bb8, Cc2, blank x2, rfep. (18 plates, 1 figure at R2). Typographic error in collation: N3 given as N5.
6 1/8 x 4 ¼ x 1 3/8 inches.
Heirs 464 (this 1652 (2nd) ed): “Nicolaas Tulp (1593-1674): Along with other distinguished anatomists in Holland, Tulp, a professor of anatomy at Amsterdam, left a rich legacy of anatomical discoveries. His name is current in the eponym "Tulp's valve" (the ileocecal valve) and his face is familiar as the central figure in Rembrandt's painting, "Doctor Nicolaas Tulp Demonstrating the Anatomy of the Arm," which hangs in The Hague. The present work, Tulp's only book, was first published in 1641. This enlarged edition contains the first descriptions of beri-beri and of what is probably diphtheria. Several interesting plates complement the book, including a well-known one showing a most comically bemused chimpanzee, erroneously labeled an "orang-outang."
G-M 3737 (also the 1652 ed): “One of the earliest accounts of beri-beri is on pp. 300-05 of this work. Tulp, notable as the demonstrator in Rembrandt’s “Anatomy Lesson”, was among the first, in the same book, to describe the ileo-caecal valve (“Tulp’s valve”). The first edition was published in 1641. Tulp's book has various accounts of unusual illnesses and primarily growths or carcinomas, but also has accounts of creatures brought back from Dutch East India Company ships. His drawing of a Chimpanzee is considered the first of its kind. This creature was called an Indian Satyr, since all ships cargo was considered Indonesian. However, the accompanying text claims the animal came from Angola. This drawing was copied many times and formed the basis for many theories on the origin of man. Most notably, Tulp's work and that of Jacob de Bondt (alias Jacobus Bontius) was copied and republished by Linnaeus to show a link between apes and man."
