Tractatus de Haemorrhoidibus
Halae: Typis & Impensis Orphanotropheii, 1722. First edition.
An important early-18th-century medical monograph on the theory and treatment of haemorrhoids, by the influential German physician Michael Alberti (1682–1757), professor of medicine and philosophy at the University of Halle and a major figure in the school of Christian Wolff and Georg Ernst Stahl. This dense Latin treatise investigates the causes, symptoms, and therapies of hemorrhoidal afflictions both internal and external, grounded in humoral pathology but enriched with the author’s observations from clinical experience. Alberti’s work exemplifies the transitional phase between scholastic Galenism and emerging empirical medicine. The treatise opens with an epistolary preface by Stahl and includes numerous references to ancient medical authorities, presenting a detailed examination of diagnosis and management from antiquity through contemporary practice.
This 1722 Halle edition, handsomely printed in large type with red-and-black title page, was issued by the famed Orphanotropheum Press, one of the great German centers of academic and theological printing. The work’s dedication to Count Heinrich XXIV Reuss (of the Plauen line) indicates its patronage and intended scholarly prestige. Alberti’s systematic classification of hemorrhoidal conditions and his insistence on moderation in bloodletting and purgation made this one of the more humane and pragmatic texts of early modern medicine.
Condition & Binding: Contemporary full calf (or possibly sheep), spine richly gilt in compartments with floral and urn motifs, red morocco title label “ALBERTI DE HÆMORRIBU.” Marbled endpapers and edges. Boards rubbed and scuffed with edge wear; small losses at spine ends and corners. Interior generally clean and crisp, with minor foxing and toning typical of Halle imprints; faint dampstain to title leaf margin but text strong. Firmly bound, with marbled endpapers still attached. Overall- very good. Item #691
Price: $300.00