May 1, 2024 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
45
Manuscript of William Hunter on the gravid uterus
HUNTER, WILLIAM
Dr. Hunter. On the Gravid Uterus [caption title from f. 2 recto] bound with DENMAN, THOMAS, M.D. Aphorisms on the Application and the Use of the Forceps. On Preternatural Labor and the Labors attended with Hemorhage. London: perhaps 1780s, but undated. Original brown calf, 10 3/4 x 8 1/8 inches (27.25 x 20.75 cm); manuscript on paper, [2], 176 pp. written in brown ink in a neat and legible period hand. The binding is soiled and worn, neatly rebacked retaining the original spine label, and overall sound. Internally, generally a clean, fresh copy, the ink on the first three leaves pale. At the head of the first leaf is a note "Gift of Richard Franklin Esq. to the City Limerick Infirmary Library"; this inscription is dated 1834 and the library from which this work comes has other works of the same provenance, similarly annotated; another small note reads "Doctor Keating," and this (which may be earlier) is undated.
The first work occupies folios 1-132, with a list of contents on the unnumbered leaf preceding. This is likely a fair copy of notes taken by someone in attendance at Hunter's lectures, of which very few sets (perhaps thirteen, according to one authority) are known. It is written in the first person, opening "The Gravid Uterus, in which I had better and more numerous opportunities of making good discoveries than perhaps any man living, and I flatter myself I have not idly wasted my time in my various pursuits on that subject." William Hunter (1718-1783) was the foremost English anatomist of the latter half of the eighteenth century, and his 1774 work, the Anatomia Uteri Humani Gravidi Tabulis Illustrata, was published by Baskerville with thirty-four staggeringly beautiful anatomical plates of the uterus and foetus; the style of depiction was based on the drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci, whose work Hunter was responsible for rediscovering. Of Hunter it was written:
"He never married; he had no country house; he looks, in his portraits, a fastidious, fine gentleman; but he worked till he dropped and he lectured when he was dying."
The second work present here, occupying f. 133-178, treats the use of obstetrical forceps. The taxonomy of labor presented here is largely as presented in the printed editions of Denman, but has some differences of wording, and it may be that this text is drawn from an unpublished source, but said source certainly does not have the immediacy of lecture notes. Thomas Denman (1733–1815) was a pioneer in the area of induced labor in cases where a full-term delivery would risk the life of the mother. He advocated the use of forceps in these cases; Hunter was generally averse to their use.
Richard Franklin who iscribed this book and made a generous gift of medical books to the Limerick Infirmary Library, including the present, is certainly Sir Richard Franklin (d. 1845), who was surgeon to Barrington's Hospital and the City of Limerick Infirmary, and a mayor of the city of Limerick. Franklin would have had a special interest in this book, as he was a certified practitioner in midwifery of the Dublin Lying-in Hospital.
This manuscript is an important resource on obstetrical practice in the late eighteenth century.
Sold for $4,160
Estimated at $3,000 - $5,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
HUNTER, WILLIAM
Dr. Hunter. On the Gravid Uterus [caption title from f. 2 recto] bound with DENMAN, THOMAS, M.D. Aphorisms on the Application and the Use of the Forceps. On Preternatural Labor and the Labors attended with Hemorhage. London: perhaps 1780s, but undated. Original brown calf, 10 3/4 x 8 1/8 inches (27.25 x 20.75 cm); manuscript on paper, [2], 176 pp. written in brown ink in a neat and legible period hand. The binding is soiled and worn, neatly rebacked retaining the original spine label, and overall sound. Internally, generally a clean, fresh copy, the ink on the first three leaves pale. At the head of the first leaf is a note "Gift of Richard Franklin Esq. to the City Limerick Infirmary Library"; this inscription is dated 1834 and the library from which this work comes has other works of the same provenance, similarly annotated; another small note reads "Doctor Keating," and this (which may be earlier) is undated.
The first work occupies folios 1-132, with a list of contents on the unnumbered leaf preceding. This is likely a fair copy of notes taken by someone in attendance at Hunter's lectures, of which very few sets (perhaps thirteen, according to one authority) are known. It is written in the first person, opening "The Gravid Uterus, in which I had better and more numerous opportunities of making good discoveries than perhaps any man living, and I flatter myself I have not idly wasted my time in my various pursuits on that subject." William Hunter (1718-1783) was the foremost English anatomist of the latter half of the eighteenth century, and his 1774 work, the Anatomia Uteri Humani Gravidi Tabulis Illustrata, was published by Baskerville with thirty-four staggeringly beautiful anatomical plates of the uterus and foetus; the style of depiction was based on the drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci, whose work Hunter was responsible for rediscovering. Of Hunter it was written:
"He never married; he had no country house; he looks, in his portraits, a fastidious, fine gentleman; but he worked till he dropped and he lectured when he was dying."
The second work present here, occupying f. 133-178, treats the use of obstetrical forceps. The taxonomy of labor presented here is largely as presented in the printed editions of Denman, but has some differences of wording, and it may be that this text is drawn from an unpublished source, but said source certainly does not have the immediacy of lecture notes. Thomas Denman (1733–1815) was a pioneer in the area of induced labor in cases where a full-term delivery would risk the life of the mother. He advocated the use of forceps in these cases; Hunter was generally averse to their use.
Richard Franklin who iscribed this book and made a generous gift of medical books to the Limerick Infirmary Library, including the present, is certainly Sir Richard Franklin (d. 1845), who was surgeon to Barrington's Hospital and the City of Limerick Infirmary, and a mayor of the city of Limerick. Franklin would have had a special interest in this book, as he was a certified practitioner in midwifery of the Dublin Lying-in Hospital.
This manuscript is an important resource on obstetrical practice in the late eighteenth century.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, May 1, 2024
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Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on May 1, 2024 Totals $1.2 Million
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A Medieval Manuscript Rules of St. Augustine Achieves $102k
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Competitive bidding at Doyle’s May 1, 2024 auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps drove strong prices and a sale total that topped $1.2 million, surpassing expectations.
Featured in the sale was a fascinating selection of early manuscripts that achieved exceptional results. Highlighting the group was a 14th century manuscript of the Rules of St. Augustine from an English priory that soared over its $8,000-12,000 estimate to realize a stunning $102,100. The Rule of St. Augustine is among the earliest of all monastic rules, created about 400, and it was an influence on all that succeeded it. Other notable results included a 14th century Etymologiae of St. Isidore estimated at $5,000-8,000 that achieved $51,200 and a 15th century Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier estimated at $10,000-15,000 that sold for $28,800.
A first edition of John James Audubon's octavo Birds of America sold for $41,600, far over its $25,000-35,000 estimate. Published in 1840-1844 in seven volumes, the first octavo edition was the final Birds of America publication overseen by Audubon in his lifetime.
The Fred Rotondaro Collection offered rare books and manuscripts on a range of subjects touching the African American experience in the United States over three centuries. A first edition copy of Frederick Douglass’ 1876 speech at the unveiling of the Freedman's Monument in Washington realized $12,800, far exceeding its $3,000-5,000 estimate. A first edition of the first issue of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin from 1852 also achieved $12,800.
Highlighting the range of offerings from the Ken Harte Collection of Natural History was a first edition Richard Bowdler Sharpe’s beautifully illustrated monograph of Kingfishers, 1868-71, that sold for $14,080, doubling its $6,000-8,000 estimate. It was accompanied by an inscribed copy of the rare unfinished chapter on the anatomy of the kingfisher by James Murie.
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Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141 ext 248, Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext 234, or Noah Goldrach at ext 226, or email Books@Doyle.com
