Selecta poemata Archibaldi Pitcarnii Med. Doctoris, Gulielmi Scot a Thirlestane, Equitis. Thomae Kincadii, Civis Edinburgensis, et aliorum.
Edinburgh: [n.p.], 1727; 1726. Two works in one volume. 8vo. xii, 145, [11]; 105, [3] pp. FIRST EDITIONS. Full contemporary calf, joints starting, some wear to corners and edges; some light interior browning, with some occasional light spotting. Item #11675
First edition of both works. Each contains Pitcairn’s poetry many of which are addressed to or are about medical men. The poems not only have literary merit, but are known for their contemporary political allusions, many of which were explained in Irving’s Memoirs of Buchanan, and by Lord Hales in the Edinburgh Magazine and Review.Pitcairn (1652-1713), an accomplished mathematician and physician, was one of the original members of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, as well as one of the first three professors at the University of Edinburgh. Though undoubtedly one of the most illustrious medical men of his time, his work was not without controversy, and several pamphlets attacking his approach to using mathematics in medicine were written. DNB, XV, 1222; Osler, 5305.
Price: $450.00