| Tiny But Mighty |
Damien Ihrig, MA, MLIS
Curator, John Martin Rare Book Room
 This month's newsletter is a bonus double issue! You are the "beneficiary" of my finely honed skill of picking books that generate many more research rabbit holes than can be accommodated in one brief newsletter. So, get ready to enjoy (slightly) more content! More links! More book stuff!
We are big fans of tiny books here at the JMRBR. And banned books, too. So we thought we would highlight a curious little book packed with a number of treatises on obstetrical and gynecological topics, once considered so risqué that it was condemned and banned in several locations. Not coincidentally, it was also a hit that spurred the printing of several editions. The book is also fascinating for its illustrations.
Five works are gathered under the main title, De integritatis et corruptionis virginum notis: graviditate item & partu naturali mulierum, opuscula, by the 16th-century French surgeon Séverin Pineau (1550?–1619). Pineau was born in Chartres but trained and practiced in Paris and was surgeon to several French kings. He is most known for his works on gynecological and obstetrical topics, including as an advocate for symphysiotomy (also known as a pelviotomy), a procedure performed on women in labor in which the cartilage of the pelvis is cut to widen it when there is a problem with the position of the baby. This procedure is rarely performed today, with caesarean section preferred instead.
The second treatise is by Luigi Bonacciuoli (d. 1540s). Bonacciuoli was a physician and anatomist who specialized in obstetrics and practiced at the University of Ferrara in Northern Italy.
The next title belongs to Felix Platter (1536-1614), a Swiss physician and anatomist who practiced at the University of Basel. He remained city physician until his death and was successful in developing the medical school into one of the strongest and finest in Europe. Platter is credited with performing the first public dissection of a human body in a Germanic country and is said to have dissected over 300 bodies during his career. He was widely respected as a teacher and was a physician of great courage who remained in Basel to treat the sick on five occasions when the black plague struck the city. As one of the early nosologists (classifier of diseases), Platter recognized three classes of diseases based on their natural history and postmortem findings and distinguished four types of mental illness. He is best known for his De corporis humani structura et usu, published in 1583.
The next treatise belongs to the famed French philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician (and opponent of William Harvey), Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655). A Catholic priest with a doctorate in theology, Gassendi was a professor of philosophy and mathematics and believed that experimentation and observation were necessary for the study of science and nature. Among many other contributions to science and philosophy, he is known for the first recorded observation of the transit of Mercury across the sun.
The final title is from the Strasbourg physician Melchior Sebisch the Younger (1578-1674). Sebisch (aka Sebizius, Sebizii, and others) was a professor of medicine at the University of Strassbourg, where he eventually took over for his father (Melchior Sebisch the Senior) as the Chair of Medicine. Like many of the other authors on this list, he has many publications to his credit. particularly translations of and commentaries on Galen.
Read more below about this tiny but mighty book.
Stay well and happy reading!
Hours
The Room is available Monday-Thursday, 8:30-5:00 (U.S. Central) and Friday by appointment. Face masks are welcome and available for free to all visitors. To guarantee the Room is available, please contact me at damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu or 319-335-9154. | | 
All times are Central
 October 18 at 5:30 pm – The John Martin Rare Book Room Presents
Mental Health and the Weight of the Past: How Early Modern Physicians Read Greek Psychology
401 Hardin Library (in person, but it will be recorded)
Jonathan Reeder, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Classics
University of Iowa
This talk begins with a brief survey of the history of scientific discourse on mental health, then focuses on the intellectual and professional dilemma faced by early modern physicians: either repeat Greek psychology and suppress one's own originality, or challenge the giants of Greek medicine along with their scientific and cultural weight. The lecture tells the story of how some authors of the JMRBR collection grappled with the authority of the past against the backdrop of an area of medicine which is of great concern in our own time.
September 21 at 11:00 AM – Waring Library at the Medical University of South Carolina
“The Mütter Museum: Historic Specimens and Current Medical Research” with Anna Dhody
Curator, Mütter Museum and Director, Mütter Research Institute
In case you did not get enough of the Mütter Museum in our July issue, join Anna Dhody, Curator of the Mütter Museum, for a talk on the significance the collection holds in current medical research. Register here.
| | | | PINEAU, Severin (1550?–1619). De integritatis et corruptionis virginum notis: graviditate item & partu naturali mulierum, opuscula.
BONACCIUOLI, Luigi (d. 1540). Enneas muliebris.
PLATTER, Felix (1536-1614). De origine partium, earumque in utero conformatione.
GASSENDI, Pierre (1592-1655). De septo cordis pervio, observatio.
SEBISCH, Melchior (1578-1674) De notis virginitatis.
Third edition. Printed in Leiden by Francis Heger, 1641. 28 pages. 13 cm tall.
This volume is a collection of gynecological and obstetrical texts by the five authors described above. The content, especially the first and last works, caused quite a stir due to the frankness and detail regarding virginity (and how it is lost), pregnancy, and childbirth - so much so that it was confiscated in many locations. Naturally, it was also very popular and printed in several editions.
And by "virginity," the authors specifically mean female virginity. Authors of early medical works surprisingly did not seem too interested in male virginity! All snarkiness aside, the study of female anatomy and physiology, especially of anything to do with sex, pregnancy, and birth, has a long and problematic history. We encourage you to read more about this history here and here and here and here. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
The first treatise, De integritatis et corruptionis virginum notis [On the integrity and corruption of known virgins], first appeared as part of Pineau's 1597 work, Opusculum physiologum & anatomicum in duos libellos distinctum. It is divided into two parts. The first provides anatomical descriptions of female genitalia. Interestingly, Pineau uses metaphors when naming certain parts. It was common among French midwives at the time to use metaphors instead of anatomical terms when describing female sexual anatomy (e.g., babolle abbatue), while our old friend, Louise Bourgeois, avoided both metaphor and specifics, referring instead to general areas of anatomy.
The first part of Pineau's work also lists problems that can occur during pregnancy and labor and surgical methods for treating the problems. The second part covers formation of the fetus. Several interesting woodcut illustrations accompany Pineau's text, including the muscle-bound fetus in the banner image at top of the page.
Enneas muliebris [Treatise on Women in Nine Parts], first printed in about 1505, is a work on obstetrical and gynecological topics based on Bonacciuoli's university lectures. It contains a lengthy dedication to Lucrezia Borgia, the duchess of Ferrara and daughter of Pope Alexander VI, and one of the most powerful female leaders of the time. | | | In the book, Bonacciuoli describes the anatomical structures, such as the mons veneris, the clitoris, and the hymen, and includes a chapter detailing how the fetus is nourished and when fetal movements develop. Other chapters include discussions of the signs of conception, the causes and signs of abortion, delivery, and care of the newborn. He based most of his material on classic works.
Felix Platter’s De origine partium, earumque in utero confirmatione [On the origin of fetal anatomy and formation in the womb] focuses on the formation of the fetus. Platter is chiefly concerned with the origin of the arteries, veins, and nerves from the brain and the relationship of the veins to the heart and liver. This work first appeared in Platter's De corporis humani structura et usu.
Pierre Gassendi’s brief treatise, De septo cordis pervio, observatio [Observation on the septum of the heart] is the only appearance in print of this work; there is no separate edition. A critic of William Harvey, Gassendi gives the first description of the foramen ovale, a passageway in the fetal heart that allows blood to flow to the left atrium from the right atrium that closes as the heart fully forms.
The last work, Melchior Sebisch's De notis virginitatis [On the characteristics of virginity], bookends Pineau's De integritatis by providing another treatise on the physical signs of female virginity.
The volume is bound in contemporary limp vellum with yapp edges, another callback to our discussion of Louise Bourgeois. The cover shows clear signs of use and aging (just like me!), with a yellow discoloration, scratches, and staining. The paper is in great condition, with the exception of a torn page and the larger fold-out woodcut illustrations, which have seen a lot of use.
Along with workout warrior fetuses, there are other curious images throughout the book, including the tiny, fully-formed fetus swimming in the cavernous womb seen just above. It is joined by two other fetuses, including one that appears to be taking a moment for some serious rest and reflection.
Most of the illustrations are derived from the work of Guilio Cassesrio, a 16th-century Italian anatomist lauded for the artistry of his illustrations. Each of the fold-outs was also repaired at some point, which unfortunately means we lost part of each image. You can see evidence of these repairs in the image above.
Contact me to view this book or any others from this or past newsletters: damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu or 319-335-9154 to arrange a visit in person or over Zoom.
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