[Medicine] Pedanii Diosciridis Anazarbei, De medica materia libri sex
Ioanne Ruellio suessionensi interprete. His accessit, praeter, pharmacorum simplicium catalogum, copiosus omnium fermè medelarum sive curationum index. Lyon, apud Iacobum Faure, 1554, (4),543,(146) p., with woodcut printer's mark on title, later vellum (bound with splits), all edges gilt, very small 8vo (12.5 x 8.5 cm.).
Title page with repaired corners and old owner's name Gustavus Adolphus Sabini and old other name in pen. Somewhat tanned throughout the blockbook, but still a good copy. Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40-90 AD) was a Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist. De Materia Medica is a five-part book originally written in Greek, an encyclopedia on herbal medicine and related medicinal substances (a pharmacopeia), that was widely read for more than 1,500 years. It is the predecessor to all modern pharmacopoeias.