475

Giovanni da Vigo (1450?-1525)

The Whole Worke of that Famous Chirurgion.

London: printed by Thomas East, 1586.
First edition, thick quarto in 3 parts; general title printed within a border of type ornaments; lacking one text leaf in the third part [folio 107]; bound in early boards very neatly rebacked and re-cornered; ex libris noted English book collector Thomas Baker (1656-1740) with two signed inscriptions in his hand from the 18th century; Baker notes that he purchased this copy from the library of William Beckett (1684-1738) of Chancery Lane, London, surgeon and Fellow of the Royal Society; with a 15-line note in Dr. Beckett's hand with his signature at the end of the "To the Reader" on ¶3 recto; and other marginalia in his hand throughout; second section with the works of Thomas Gale with added illustrations and an early note possibly in Dr. Beckett's hand, "All the likenesses and cutts of instruments in this Book belonged to the first edit in 8o," with the same woodcut portrait of Gale appearing 3 times (mounted on 2 blank leaves and the blank verso of the last leaf of the first part), and 8 medical woodcuts including 2 showing a man and all of the wounds that might befall him, the others of medical devices and instruments; 7 1/4 x 5 in.

STC 24723; ESTC S107484.

"Thomas Baker occupied an important position in the world of antiquarian and historical learning in the first forty years of the eighteenth century. He was a well-informed historical scholar at home in theology, law, science and philosophy, whose scholarship extended to the history of the book and the book trade. His voluminous correspondence was almost entirely about books, and he emerges from it as a bibliographer and book-collector of note. This catalogue attempts a reconstruction of Baker's library of some 4300 titles. The library reflects the man, particularly his absorption in and love of St John's College, Cambridge, which retained the cream of his collection, and the University." (Quoted from Frans Korsten's A Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Baker, Cambridge: University Press, 2010.)

Dr. Beckett was a practicing London physician who published several books on medicine.

  • Condition: ¶10, A-Lll8; ¶8, A-P8, O4; A6, A-R8 (lacking text leaf O3 [folio 107 in part three], S2.

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    Devon Eastland, Senior Specialist: [email protected]
    Grace Meschery-McCormack, Cataloguer: [email protected]


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April 23, 2026 10:30 AM EDT
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