Folio (330 x 208 mm). Engraved title by Thomas Cecill, 3 full-page wood-engravings, numerous woodcuts in the text, woodcut, head- and tailpieces. (Title-page reinserted on stub and with some marginal repairs, a few stains near gutter; a few leaves dampstained near gutters, occasional toning.) Early half calf, smooth spine with 6 compartments, citron morocco lettering-piece gilt (rebacked, preserving original backstrip, endpapers renewed, extremes rubbed).

Second edition in English, translated by the botanist and apothecary Thomas Johnson. Ambroise Pare, who served as surgeon to four French kings and transformed surgical practice through empirical observation, pioneered surgical techniques, most notably the use of ligatures to treat wounds, replacing the traditional—and often fatal—application of boiling oil. First issued in French in 1575, his collected works were translated into English and published in London in 1634. ESTC R913; Norman 1640 (first edition); Wing P-349.