Of the Princeps editions there are those of Ælian,1 Alciphron,2 Euclid, Homer, Eustathius' Commentaria in Homerum," Josephus, Maximus Tyrius,7 Eusebius, Tertullian," and Suidas.10 6 Of the finest and best editions there are those of Aristides," Diogenes Laertius,12 Gregorius Thaumaturgus,13 Gregorius Nazien 1 Opera Omnia. Gesneri. Tiguri, 1556. Fol. "The date is not on the title page, nor at the end of the book, but at the conclusion of the Dedicatory Epistle."-Dibden. Harwood speaks of this edition "of rare occu "rence." as 2 Bergleri. Lipsia. 1715. 12mo. 3 Grynæi. Basil. 1533. Fol. D. Cretensis. Florent. 1488. Fol. 2 vol. Mattaire says of it, "Nil certè aut antea aut postea elegantius comparuit." Gibbon says "it displays all the luxury of the typographical art;" and Dibden speaks "of the splendour, rarity, and value of these truly exquisite volumes." Eustathii Archiepiscopi Thessalonicensis; Commentarii in Homeri Iliadem et Odysseam. Romæ. 1542-50. Fol. 4 vol. "It is among the most splendid monuments in the world, of Greek erudition and of Greek printing."-Dibden. M. Renouard well observes in the opening of his description of it: "Tresor d'érudition grècque, espèce de sanctuaire dans lequel n'ont accès que ceux qui déjà ont fait des progrès dans l'étude des anciens Classiques." Arlenii. Basil. 1544. Fol. Printed by Frobenius. Dibden calls it "beautiful and rare;" and Harwood "one of the noblest and most venerable old books I ever saw." H. Stephanus. Paris. 1557. 8vo. Præparatio Evangelica. R. Stephanus. Lutet. Paris. 1544. Fol. "The purest edition of Eusebius."-Harwood. Demonstratio Evangelica. R. Stephanus. Lutet. 1545. Fol. "Of equal beauty and value with the parent Greek text of the Preparatio Evangelica."-Dibden. Historia Ecclesiastica. R. Stephanus. Paris. 1544. Fol. "This beautiful book."-Dibden. 9 9 Opera Omnia. Froben. Basil. 1521. Folio. "A book of uncommon occurrence; and, as an editio princeps, should have a place in all libraries of any critical pretension."-Dibden. 10 Lexicon Græcum. Mediolani. 1499. Fol. Impensa D. Chalcondyli. 11 Jebbii. Oxon. 1722. 4to. 2 vol. tissima." 12 Meibomii. Amst. 1692. 4to. 2 vol. "Editio longè præstan "Beyond all doubt this is by far the best as well as the most splendid edition extant of the author."-Dibden. 13 Paris. 1622. Folio. "Editio optima."-Dibden. zenus,1 St. Jerom, Oppian, Pausanias, Photius, Pindar, Plato," Tacitus.8 Whilst among the medical rarities I may mention the Princeps editions of Aretaus and Galen,10 and very fine copies of the finest editions of Rhazes," and Avicenna.12 THE PHARMACOPOEIAS OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON. I. The first London Pharmacopoeia was published in 1618, just one century after the foundation of the College. By that time various Antidotaries, Dispensatories, and Pharmacopoeias had appeared on the continent; at Nuremberg, Lyons, Cologne, Bergamo, Augsberg, Rome, Venice, Florence, &c. The first Dispensatory published by authority, is believed to be that of "The first "The first 1 Omnia Opera. Billii. Paris. 1609. Folio. 2 vol. printed text of the entire works of this father."-Dibden. Opera Omnia. Erasmi. Basil. 1516. Fol. 9 vol. edition of the works of St. Jerom in a complete form."-Dibden. 3 Turneb: Paris. 1555. 4to. "One of the most beautiful books which Turnebus ever printed; its rarity and intrinsic value are equal to its elegance."-Dibden. Kulinii. Lipsia. 1696. Fol. "Emphatically and justly called the editio optima of Pausanias."-Dibden. 5 Hoeschelii. Rothomag. 1653. Fol. "Editio optima."-Dibden. Westii et Welstedii. Oxon. 1697. Fol. "A splendid monument of classical research and typographical beauty."-Dibden. 7 Serrani. Paris. 1578. Fol. 3 vol. Printed by H. Stephen. "This celebrated and magnificent edition," writes Dibden. Elzevir. Lugd. Bat. 1640. 2 vol. "It is," writes Dr. Dibden, "one of the scarcest of the Elzevir classics, and a fine copy is very valuable." Goupyli. Paris. 1554. 8vo. Gk. Printed by Turnebus. Fabricius speaks of the "purity of the paper, the amplitude of the margin, and the elegance of the types." A Latin version of Aretæus appeared in 1552, but this is the first in Greek. Dibden's Introduction to the Greek and Latin Classics. 4th edit. 2 vols. 8vo. Lond. 1827. Vol. 1, p. 290. 10 Opera Omnia in ædibus Aldi. Venetiis. 1525. Fol. 5 vol. "Helchavy; hoc est, Liber continens Artem Medicinæ. Impres sum Brixie per Jacobum Britannicum Brixianum. 1486. Fol. 12 Opera cum Explanat. Jacobi de Partibus. Lugd. 1498, Fol. 3 vol., and his Liber Canonis in Medicina. Romæ. 1593. Fol. Arabice. Valerius Cordus in 1542, on the authority of the senate of Nuremberg. Cordus, then a young student, during a transient visit to Nuremberg, is said to have produced a collection of medical receipts which he had selected from the works of the most esteemed writers, and that the physicians of Nuremberg were so highly pleased with it that they urged him to print it for the benefit of the apothecaries; and, having obtained the sanction of the Senate to the undertaking, he did so in 1542. The Lyons Dispensatory appeared in 1561;1 that of Cologne in 1565; the Pharmacopoeia Bergomensis in 1580,3 and the Pharmacopoeia Augustana in 1601. The last-named is the reputed parent of the various Pharmacopoeias that succeeded it. It was soon followed by the Italian pharmacopoeias above named; by that of London in 1618, and of Paris in 1637. The earliest mention of the London Pharmacopoeia that I meet with in the Annals is on the 25th of June, 1585:— "Actum est de unâ aliquâ, certâ, publicâ, ac uniformi Pharmacopoeiâ, in hâc civitate ab omnibus pharmacopolis usurpandâ. Sed quoniam res videbatur operosa, et digna pleniori deliberatione, idcirco rejicitur in proxima Comitia; et nihil aliud in hoc tempore conclusum est, quàm ut, longiori spatio ad cogitandum eâ de re sumpto, unusquisque Collega adsit in proximis Comitiis, et quid hâc in re fieri velit, tunc liberè exponat: ut sic cum totius Societatis consensu aliquid perfectum et egregium in re tam laudabili attentetur." The next entry is on the 10th October, 1589: Propositum, deliberatum, et conclusum est, ut unum aliquod publicum ac uniforme Dispensatorium sive Receptorum Magistralium formula officinis sequenda constituatur. Et ut istud opus tam præclarum, meliùs et maturiùs perficiatur, rem totam in classes diviserunt: et singulis Collegis suum in hoc negotio cuique munus et pensum est assignatum, ut hic infra apparet. Omnibusque et singulis injunctum est, ut proximis solemnibus 1 Dispensarium Compositorum ab antiquioribus junioribusque Archiatris Medicamentorum. 18mo. Lugd. 1561. 2 Dispensarium Usuale pro Pharmacopoeis Coloniensibus. 12mo. Coloniæ. 1565. 3 Pharmacopoeia Collegii Medicorum Bergomensium. 4to. Bergomi. 1580. Comitiis, nempe ad festum nativitatis Christi proximum, omnia parentur, et in solemni illo congressu in scriptis represententur. "Ordo et Classis earum rerum quæ tractari debent in Communi Dispensatorio Collegii: et per quos Collegas res singulæ sunt seorsim considerandæ : Syrupi Decocta Aquæ distillatæ Linimenta Unguenta Emplastra Succi Rob Conserva Per D.D. Atslowe, Browne, Farmery, Preest. Per D.D. Frier et D'Oylie. Per D.D. Smith (Oxon) et Taylior. Per D.D. Forster et Atkins. Per D.D. Smith (Cantab), Hector, Dodding, et Condita Confecta Extracta Sales Chemica Per D.D. Johnson, Langton, Muffett. 1589. December 23. "In his Comitiis omnes Collegæ, unusquisque pro se, in scriptis representabant id quod excogitarunt pro novo Dispensatorio et Usuali Londinensi Collegii consensu publicando. Totum autem hoc opus, ut perfectius et limatius exeat in vulgus, sex Collegis iterum examinandum assignatur. Examinatores autem sunt hi, Dr. Forster, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Turner, Dr. Gilbert, Dr. Browne, Dr. James." And on the 13th December, 1594, we read, " Assignati sunt ad examen Dispensatorii nostri, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Gilbert, Dr. Browne, Dr. James, Dr. Turner, Dr. Atkins, Dr. Wilkinson, Dr. Paddy." Some circumstances must have occurred to interfere with the completion of the undertaking, for the subject was allowed to drop, and for a period of twenty years no further progress was attempted. On the 25th June, 1614, the subject was revived, and under that date we read, "De Dispensatorio communi in officinis pharmacopoeorum habendo proponitur, et Bergomensi, Norimburgensi, et cæteris Antidotariis una cum nostris conferendis primò referatur ad D. Ridley, D. Davis, D. Argent, D. Herring, D. Harvey, D. Fox, D. Andrewes, et D. Gulston." On the 13th September, 1616, a committee of five, consisting of Dr. Ridley, Dr. Lister, Dr. Argent, Dr. Fox, and the Registrar, was appointed to examine the papers already collected for the Pharmacopoeia, and to report upon them to the Elects. The Committee met on the following day (14th September, 1616), but so many of the documents which had been collected were missing that they broke up their sitting, and reporting to the President the deficiency they had discovered, attributed it to a former president, probably Dr. Forster, the immediate predecessor of Dr. Atkins, who died 27th March, 1616, in his year of office as president. On the 30th September, 1616, Dr. Atkins, the President, decided that several other Fellows should be consulted and added to the Committee above named. Several notices of the Pharmacopoeia Committee occur from this time, and on the 30th September, 1617, when Dr. Atkins laid down the Presidency (to which he was re-elected), he delivered an address to the Fellows, in which he mentioned the Charter about to be granted to the College and the Pharmacopoeia then on the point of completion.1 The day after Palm Sunday, 1618, arrangements were made for publication. Sir Theodore de Mayerne, M.D., was deputed to write the dedication to the king (James I), and the preface was confided to Drs. Palmer, Herring, Gwin, Fox, Andrews, Baskerville, &c., with an ultimate reference to and supervision by the President, Dr. Atkins." "Dein D. Præses, oratione habitâ de novâ privilegia Chartâ et Pharmacopoeiâ propemodum ab et sub ipso paratis, bene monitoriâ, deposuit officium."-Annales. "Epistola dedicatoria Pharmacopoeiæ ad Dm. Regem a Dre. Mayerne conscribenda dicitur: Præfatio a pluribus, Palmer, Herring, Gwin, Fox, Andrews, Baskerville, deinceps alii ad Præsidem referanda." |