‎Alphonse Karr‎
‎Les femmes‎

‎Traité des maladies des femmes grosses et de celles qui sont accouchées (...). Tome Premier (+) Observations sur la grossesse et l'accouchement des femmes et sur leurs maladies et celles des enfans nouveau-nés en chacune desquelles les causes et les ... - [“ESTABLISHED OBSTETRICS AS A SCIENCE""]‎

‎Paris, La Compagnie des libraires 1738 [vol. 2] & 1740 [vol. 1]. 4to. Uniformly bound in two contemporary full sprinkled calf bindings with five raised bands and gilt lettering and ornamentation to spines. Small paper-labels pasted on to top of spines. Light wear and sunning to extremities. Internally nice and clean. (12), 555, (25) pp." (8), 671 pp. With numerous engravings in text.‎

‎Final and most expanded edition of famous work which “established obstetrics as a science” (Garrison & Morton). Here Mauriceau discusses various aspects related to pregnancy, labor, and the management of complications that may arise during gestation and delivery and introduced for the first time the practice of delivering his patients in bed instead of in the obstetrical chair. “The outstanding textbook of the time. Mauriceau, leading obstetrician of his day, introduced the practice of delivering his patients in bed instead of in the obstetrical chair. It was to Mauriceau that Hugh Chamberlen attempted to sell the secret of his forceps Chamberlen translated the Traité into English in 1672. This book established obstetrics as a science.” (Garrison-Morton) François Mauriceau (1637 - 1709) was a French obstetrician “had an extensive practice in midwifery in Paris, both private and in the Hotel Dieu, which was at that time the leading establishment for lying in women in Europe. In 1668, when only 31, he published his great work Traite' des Maladies des Femmes Grosses et Accouchies,' which according to Andre Levret 'drew from the cradle' the art of midwifery. Two years later Mauriceau received a visit from Hugh Chamberlen, a member of the British family that possessed the secret of the obstetric forceps, who then translated his text making it available to the English speaking world. The influence of this work on many aspects of midwifery was immense, and Mauriceau is still remembered eponymously for his description of delivery of the after coming head in breech presentation. Mauriceau's book also contains a section entitled 'Of children newborn and their ordinary Distempers, together with necessary directions to chuse a Nurse'. Among the 18 chapters are ones on 'Of cutting the Tongue when Tongue-ty'd' and 'How to cure the Venereal Lues in Infants'. Perhaps, though, in retrospect his greatest impact was in the influence his advice had on the position that women should adopt during delivery. From earliest times women throughout the world had usually assumed an upright posture during parturition. In Europe the birthing chair was particularly popular.4 As Atwood has written5: 'The first major obstetrical change in the position of the parturient occurred when Francois Mauriceau substituted the bed for the birth stool. The time honoured 'position' assumed in an obstetric chair was replaced with the recumbent position to facilitate examinations and obstetric operations for the obstetrician'.” (Dunn, Francois Mauriceau (1637-1709) and maternal posture for parturition) (Garrison-Morton 6147, the 1668-edition)‎

‎Systeme nouveau et complet de L'Art des Accouchements, tant theorique que pratique, Avec la Description des Maladies particulières aux Femmes enceintes, aux Femmes en couche, & aux Enfans nouveau-nés. Traduit de l'Anglois...Par M. Le Moine. Ouvrage ...‎

‎Paris, J.Th. Hérissant, 1771. 8vo. Contemp. full calf. Raised bands, richly gilt spine, titlelabel with gilt lettering. Spine ends a bit worn. A small nick to top of spine. Slightly rubbed. XII,(4),XXII,615,(1) pp. a. 18 folded engraved plates.The 8 first leaves (Dedication and Preface) with a dampstain in lower right corner. Otherwise fine and clean, printed on good paper.‎

‎First French edition. ""Burton was the first to suggest that puerperal fever is contagious"" (Garrison & Morton No. 6268 (Engl. ed.). - Waller No. 1667 (only the Engl. ed.). - Wellcome II, p. 277. There seems to be published an additional part (or is it so that a 12mo-edition from the same year is published in 2 vols.), although the present volume is a finished work.‎

‎Les differens caractères des femmes du siecle avec la description de l'amour propre. - [EARLY FEMMINIST WORK]‎

‎Paris, Medard-Michel Brunet, 1699. 8vo. In a nice contemporary Cambridge-style mirror binding with four raised bands and richly gilt spine. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. A nice and clean copy. (20), 278, (1) pp.‎

‎Second edition of this scarce early work first published in 1693 in which the author traces and analyses the causes of womens lack of rights and proposes methods for enabling women to improve themselves. The fact that the present work was re-edited five years after its initial release indicates a certain degree of popular appeal. However, not much is known about Pringy: “Her name appears most often in the pages of the monthly French gazette, Le Mercure galant, which announced both the text’s initial publication in 1693 and again its second edition a few months prior to publication. If nothing can defini¬tively be asserted regarding Pringy’s readership, we can gather, from the fact that the Mercure was instrumental in disseminating (some might say advertising) and thus determining trends and fashions, that Pringy enjoyed some attention for her works. Though we may never know the extent to which the Caracteres was given to young girls with the intent of correct¬ing or preventing these vices, Pringy’s treatise is unique in comparison to most contemporaneous moral analyses of women by women because of its ostensible pedagogical goal.” (LaPorta, “The Truth about Reasoning”: Veiled Propaganda and the Manipulation of Absolutist Authority in Eustache Le Noble’s La Pierre de touche politique (1688–1691))‎

‎Les Femmes du Temps passé.‎

‎Paris, Morizot, 1863. Royal8vo. Original red half calf with blindstamped borders to front board and richly gilt spine. All edges gilt. A bit of minor wear to top capital and corners a bit bumped. Internally loccasional brownspotting, especially to verso of some plates. (2), 440, 3 pp. + 20 steel-engraved plates, all with tissue-guards.‎

‎First edition of Houssaye's description of 20 famous French women. ‎

‎Les femmes du Second Empire. (Papiers intimes).‎

‎Paris, Felix Juven, 1906. 8vo. In contemporary half calf with five raised bands and gilt lettering spine. Fine. XI, (1), 369 pp.‎