LE MANUEL DES DAMES DE CHARITÉ

Paris: Chez Debure, 1765. Fifth edition. Hardcover. Brown calf, raised bands, spine gilt decorated. Good. 556 pages. 17 x 10.5 cm. Illustrated frontispiece. Important and instructive work by the French physician and author Arnault de Nobleville, a member of the Académie des Sciences. Conceived as a practical manual for the care of the sick, it was intended for use by members of the female religious order known as the Dames de Charité. The text offers guidance on administering remedies and spiritual comfort, detailing prayers, potions, purgatives, teas, ointments, and even amulets for the treatment of a wide range of ailments. An alphabetical index of maladies and their cures provides a convenient reference for practitioners. Text in French.

Originally published by Barbier in 1747, this 1765 edition is noted for its attractive frontispiece by Aignan-Thomas Desfriches (1715-1800). Corners bumped and worn. Pencil annotations on front pastedown and first free endpaper. Losses to bottom back endpaper. Minor worming 395-435.