Title: The Complete Herbal to Which is Now Added, ...
Publisher: Thomas Kelly, London
Publication Date: 1835
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Good
[6], 398, [4] printed pages. Copperplate engraved portrait frontispiece dated 1827 (slightly foxed). With contemporary ownership inscription of Margaret Machell on the front free endpaper. This copy lacks the 20 plates. Text complete and in good condition. 23 x 28 cm. Contemporary half calf. Spine with gilt floral tooling and green morocco label with gilt lettering (worn at head, tail and along the hinges- cracking & patinated with age). Marbled paper covered boards. Top board secured only by the cords, back board firm but hinge cracked. Corners worn. Nicholas Culpeper (1616-54) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer. His book The English Physitian (1652, later the Complete Herbal, 1653) is a store of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge. Culpeper's emphasis on reason rather than tradition is reflected in the introduction to his Complete Herbal. He was one of the best-known astrological botanists of his day, pairing the plants and diseases with planetary influences, countering illnesses with nostrums that were paired with an opposing planetary influence. Combining remedial care with Galenic humoral philosophy and questionable astrology, he forged a strangely workable system of medicine; combined with his "Singles" forceful commentaries, Culpeper was a widely read source for medical treatment in his time. His Herbal was held in such esteem that species he described were introduced into the New World from England. Culpeper described the medical use of the foxglove, the botanical precursor to digitalis, used to treat heart conditions. His influence is demonstrated by the continued popularity of his remedies among New Age and alternative holistic medicine practitioners. Bookseller Inventory # 4392