The Compleat Herbal of Physical Plants.

PECHEY (John).

The Compleat Herbal of Physical Plants.

"FALLING OF YE WOMB" AND "PISSING BLOOD": A WORKING COPY OF A PRACTICAL HERBAL

Containing all such English and Foreign Herbs, Shrubs and Trees, as are used in Physick and Surgery. And to the Vertues that are now in use, is added one Receipt or more, of some Learned Physician. The Doses or Quantities of such as are prescribed by the London-Physicians, and others, are proportioned…The Second Edition with the Addition of many Physical Herbs, and their Vertues.

Second Edition. Small 8vo (156 x 92mm). [8], 349 [i.e.411], [29] pp., interleaved throughout and annotated extensively by a number of different early hands (some of the ink annotations slightly bled). Some staining in the inner margin but otherwise a good copy. 18th-century sheep, covers ruled in and tooled in blind, spine divided by four bands, plain endpapers (headcaps missing, front flyleaf neatly torn away, a little rubbed and scuffed, presumably not a c contemporary binding as the notes have been cropped throughout, possibly when it was interleaved).

London: for R. and J. Bonwicke, 1707.

£1,500.00

PECHEY (John).

The Compleat Herbal of Physical Plants.

First published in 1694.

A working-copy of a herbal containing both domestic and foreign plants with numerous manuscript notes and additions by an early user.

John Pechey (1655-1716) confesses in his preface to this book that the work is largely based on the writings of John Ray: “What I have contributed to this Work, I confess, is the least Part” (A2r). Pechey defends himself though by noting that not everyone that practiced medicine in England was able to read medical texts in foreign languages. The book provides a useful little pocket guide with a detailed index and was obviously intended to be used on a day-to-day basis by both trained medical practitioners and amateurs, as this copy clearly was.

This copy has been interleaved throughout with thick laid paper but the blanks have not been used at all and instead the margins contain numerous manuscript notes on the naming of plants (often supplying the more common name) or drawing connections between two different plants and noting additional uses for certain treatments. The index has been heavily annotated and includes additional uses for the remedies that are not mentioned in the printed list such as for the, “belly to loosen”, “blood vomitting”, “cloths perfumed”, “falling of ye womb” and pissing blood“.

Stock No.

261956

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