A treatise on the operations of surgery, with a description and representation of the instruments used in performing them

London: J. Brotherton, 1739. Second edition. With 14 engraved plates, woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. Contemporary calf, rebacked spine label. A fabulous engraved dated bookplate on the paste-down, “E Libris Societatis ob causam literarum, apud Villam de Wibech, Institutae, A.D. 1781.” Overall a fine clean copy. Stated second edition, printed the same year as the first, the only difference being the title page stating that it is a second edition. This is the first British study exclusively focusing on operative techniques. Sharp, a surgeon at Guy’s Hospital, details his approach to various surgeries and the instruments he uses for operations on wounds, ulcers, hernias, stones, amputations, tumours, tonsils, and hare-lip, among many others. He is very specific when it comes to explaining the position of the patient, use of tools to open the body, and the means of suturing.

This work, extremely popular, was reprinted numerous times over the years, and used by surgeons around the world.

Sharp (1709-1778) practiced from 1733 to 1757 at Guy's Hospital in London and became internationally famous after the publication of this title. It is dedicated to William Cheselden, for whom Sharp worked as an apprentice.

Blake, p. 416; DNB, XVII, pp. 1352-1353; Wellcome, V, p. 96.