Thomas Willis, 1672

WILLIS, Thomas (1621-1675). De anima brutorum quae hominis vitalis ac sensitiva est, exercitationes duae. London: William Wells and Robert Scott, 1672.

A fine copy of the first edition, London issue, of a foundational work of neurology—with often absent longitudinal title and marginal commentary from physician Jean Bailly. In this treatise, Willis, who coined the term neurology, "recapitulated the neurological concepts he had introduced in Cerebri anatome, particularly localization, and extended them to invertebrates with some of the first detailed dissections made of the oyster, earthworm, and lobster. He attributed a wide range of diseases to neurological disturbances, among them headache, lethargy, melancholy, apoplexy, frenzy, and paralysis, but recognized the difference between the symptoms of organic brain disease and those of mental illness" (Norman). Willis was a part of Boyle's Oxford circle of scientists and a follower of William Harvey. There is also an Oxford issue of this publication, with the imprint of the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford for Richard Davis. A five-page bookseller's catalogue is usually (but not always) present in the Oxford issue, and almost always absent, as here, from the London issue. The octavo edition of the same year is the second edition. Wing W2827; Garrison and Morton (online) 1544, 4513, 4730, 4793, 4919, 4966; Krivatsy 13015; Norman 2245.

Quarto (202 x 150mm). Longitudinal title, part titles, errata leaf. 8 engraved plates, five of which folding (occasional toning, a few small spots and stains). Contemporary speckled calf, spine paneled in gilt, sprinkled edges. Provenance: Jean Bailly M.D. (inscription dated 1675 and extensive marginal commentary in his hand, referring to his clinical experience, in the chapter dealing with encephalitis) – "Jean-Baptiste] Bouthier de Rochefort" (signature on title and imprimatur leaf) – Jean Blondelet (his sale, Sotheby's Paris, 8 February 2017, lot 61).