New Acquisitions II

Damien Ihrig, MA, MLIS
Curator, John Martin Rare Book Room

Continuing with our introductions of new acquisitions, this month I cover a work whose author influenced medical thought for centuries. For longtime readers of Notes From the Rare Book Room (the previous incarnation of this newsletter) and history of medicine aficionados, the name Paracelsus is a very familiar one.

Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim is universally known as Paracelsus, a name given to him by others who saw him as a genius "surpassing Celsus" (a 2nd-Century Greek philosopher). He was born in Switzerland in 1493 and educated at Basel, a center of Renaissance humanism. There, he was eventually appointed town physician and professor at the University of Basel. His unorthodox ideas and teachings, though (and perhaps his heavy drinking and impatience with those in power), put him in conflict with the orthodox establishment of his time and Paracelsus spent most of his life wandering through Europe as an itinerant physician, chemist, theologian, and philosopher.

Paracelsus was a creative medical visionary during the Renaissance. Like many of his scientific and medical contemporaries, he stressed the value of observation when describing the structures and functions of life. Credited as the "father of toxicology," he described the modern concept of "dose-response" in his Third Defense. Here he stated that "Solely the dose determines that a thing is not a poison.". In other words, everything is poison if you get too much of it.

This targeted approach to administering medicines was counter to the prevalent strategy of applying cure-alls. This is due, in part, to his rejection of the classic "balancing of the humors" approach to healing, and his insistence that illnesses have an environmental component. Among other things, Paracelsus is also credited for coining the terms "gas," "alcohol," and "chemistry".

Although his ideas were heavily influenced by concepts that we would now consider quackery, many of Paracelsus's ideas in medicine were ahead of their time. He was a prolific writer, but few of his works were published during his lifetime. After his death, though, his works became very popular and were printed for decades afterward. Check out our newest addition to our Paracelsus collection below!

This brief biography only scratches the surface of the remarkable life of Paracelsus. Please find more extensive biographies at the National Library of Medicine History of Medicine Division and through PubMed.

This purchase was made possible by the generosity and foresight of Dr. John Martin to support the JMRBR with an acquisitions endowment.

Stay well and happy reading!

We are open for business!

Good news, everyone - the Rare Book Room will fully reopen for researchers, classes, and visitors on August 2nd! The Room will be available Monday-Thursday, 8:30-5:00 (U.S. Central) and Friday by appointment. To guarantee the room is available, please contact me at damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu.

New Website

I am very excited to announce that the Rare Book Room Website has gone through a redesign that applies the new University branding principles and incorporates current accommodation standards. Try it out! And please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the new design. A special thanks to Ken Clinkenbeard, Library IT Web Wizard, for all his help in making the new site a reality.

Book of the Month

PARACELSUS (ca. 1493-1541). Des hochgelerten vn[d] hocherfarnen Herren Theophrasti Paracelsi von Hohenheim, beider Artzney Doctoris, etliche Tractaten vor in Truck nie ausskommen. [From the highly educated and high ranking Theophrastus Paracelsus of Hohenheim, doctor of both medicines, a number of never before seen tracts] Printed by Arnold Birckmann's print shop (the "Heirs of Arnold Birckmann") in Cologne in 1564. First edition. 167 pages. 20 cm tall.

Etliche Tractaten...is a collection of thirteen of the most important medical tracts by Paracelsus on various diseases and their treatments. They include one of the author's most thorough discussions of gout. Paracelsus was the first to suggest the possibility of a chemical as opposed to humoral causation of gout. It also includes an important contribution to his theories regarding the treatment of epilepsy, and descriptions of colic, rheumatism, dropsy, mental illness, consumption, shock, edema, vertigo, helminths (parasitic worms), and tuberculosis.

It is divided into three "books," or chapters. The first two deal with the discussion of gout. The third contains the rest of the descriptions and is labeled as a practical guide for those illnesses. It includes a description of the illness and Paracelsus's recommended cure.

The book is in overall very good condition. The text is printed in a thick Gothic style harkening back to handwritten manuscript traditions (fun to look at, not fun to try and read!). The paper has very little staining, although it has clearly lived a life or two. One of its owners, or perhaps a devious library user, jotted down a few bits of marginalia. You can see an example above. Given that it repeats what is in the text rather than commenting on the text, I am guessing these were markers to quickly find relevant information, much as we would do today with highlighting in our own books.

The volume we have was rebound with a fine brown calfskin leather. Stamped into the front and back of the cover and on the spine are gold floral motifs, as well as extra gold flourishes on the spine and on the edges. Someone thought very highly of this book and wanted to give it a cover they believed was worthy of it!

If you are interested in seeing this or other items mentioned in this or earlier newsletters, please contact Damien Ihrig at damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu or 319-335-9154 to arrange a visit in person or over Zoom.