Sciences occultes

1763 · 019038 — Vindobonae Vienna: Joannis Thomae Trattner 1763. "A little book which shows Colchicum autumnale Meadow Saffron root not only safe for human use but also useful for internal cures whenever diseases difficult to cure will not yield to other medicines". Small octavo illustrated with one folding engraved plate a little foxed around the margins and with a corner creased pp 96 some foxing but otherwise firm throughout the verso of the title pages has an early stamp of an Austrian library also with the perforated stamp of the John Crerar library and its tiny withdrawn stamp an early signature on the title page with the attractive bookpate of the Crerar Library on the front endpaper the free front endpaper nearly detached. red quarter morocco and marbled boards rubbed . Anton von Storck 1731 - 1803 was an Austrian physician. Storck is remembered for his clinical research of various herbs and their associated toxicity and medicinal properties. His studies are considered to be the pioneering work of experimental pharmacology and his method can be regarded as forming a blueprint for the clinical trials of modern medicine. He was convinced that plants regarded as poisonous still had medicinal applications if employed in carefully controlled quantities. Störck was particularly interested in the medical possibilities of plants such as hemlock henbane jimsonweed and autumn crocus. His experiments with these plants involved a three-step process; initially used on animals followed by a personal trial and finally given to his patients all the while maintaining a "sliding-scale" approach to determine the optimum dosage. Störck's numerous Latin medical tracts detailing his experiments into the therapeutic effects of poisonous plants excited great interest and were translated into German French English Dutch and Portuguese rapidly becoming influential medical texts throughout Europe. First Edition. Quarter leather. Good. Joannis Thomae Trattner Hardcover