Susanne Schulz-Falster Catalogue Ten - Schulz-Falster Rare Books

One of a number of editions of Voltaire’s philosophical and utopian tale
published in the year of the Wrst edition. In the style of Gulliver’s Travels,
Voltaire’s tale exposes human pretentions by looking at them from the outside.
The title character is a giant from the planet Sirius who, accompanied
by a slightly smaller but still enormous companion from Saturn, visits Earth
to investigate it and its inhabitants. When they Wrst arrive, the Earth appears
void of any inhabitants; only the use of a magnifying diamond allows them
to see some humans, who appear microscopic. Micromégas is shocked and
surprised by the folly and cruelty of humanity, but impressed by their
scientiWc advances.
The two other works, the essay on the crusades and the ‘new plan’, had
both Wrst appeared in periodicals, and were to be incorporated in Voltaire’s
major historical work Essai sur les Moeurs.
Bengesco I 1429 note; B.N., 2908; see D. W. Smith, ‘The publication of
Micromégas’, in Studies on Voltaire and the eighteenth century, 219, 1983, pp 63–87.
329 [VOLTAIRE.] [VALENTI, Pietro.] Vita del Signor di
Voltaire estratta dalle di lui opere. Venezia, Giovanni Vitto,
1779. £600
susanne schulz-falster rare books catalogue ten
8vo, frontispiece portrait, pp. 80; contemporary paste-paper stiV
wrappers, spine label lettered in manuscript; corners a little dog-eared,
else Wne.
First edition in Italian, one of two issues published the same year, of this
brief biography of Voltaire, allegedly written by himself, and apparently the
Wrst account of his life and work in Italian. The biographical information is
accompanied by excerpts and quotations from his works. According to the
preface the work is translated from the French.
Particularly appealing is the engraved frontispiece showing Voltaire sitting
at his desk.
Not found in Bengesco or Cioranescu; OCLC and RLIN list just one copy at the
University of San Diego, another issue was published the same year, with a London
imprint (ESTC n56391), of which only the Harvard copy is listed.
The Socialisation of Health Care
330 VORDONI, Leonardo. Saggio di un Metodo per Formare dei
Buoni Medici. Padova, Nicolò Zanon Bettoni, 1808. £1200
Folio, pp. x, [ii], 284, [I] imprint, p. 253/254 large folding printed
table, prelims misbound; uncut in the original limp buV boards; a Wne
copy with presentation inscription in ink to front free endpaper.
First edition of this comprehensive introduction to medical education and
medical ethics. Vordoni takes a socialist approach to the provision of good
health care: the number of doctors has to be regulated, their education systematised,
their work analysed, and adequately compensated. They will be
Wnanced by contributions from the more aZuent part of the population.
Doctors who have reached retirement age are no longer required to practice
medicine, but will be called upon for administrative and judicial work, or in
public health oYces. Medical training will be provided by carefully selected
and suitably experienced doctors. For the assessment of good and competent
doctors he compares the requirements made by Rhases, Friend, Zimmermann
and Devolet, and then gives his own list of attributes. Helpfully
he also provides a list of how to detect bad doctors.
He gives a useful list of diagnostic procedures for the correct assessment
of ailments, dvises on how to learn from the medical authorities, how to
organise notes, and how to structure hospitals and medical practice.
Vordoni maintains that the strict quality control he proposes at every
level of medical training and practice will beneWt society, and the doctors
themselves, as their qualiWcations will be recognized, and easily distinguished
from charlatans.
Not in Blake; uncommon, RLIN and OCLC list copies at Cornell and the
Wellcome Library only.
Philosophy of Mathematics
331 WAGNER, Johann Jakob. Mathematische Philosophie.
Erlangen, Johann Jakob Palm, 1811. £550