The De Medicina of Aulus Cornelius Celsus is the earliest surviving medical treatise in Latin and the first to be printed in Europe.

Very little is known about Celsus, but he is believed to have lived at the time of Emperors Augustus and Tiberius (27 BC-AD 37). He is mainly known for De Medicina, a study of medicine thought to be the only part of a larger encyclopaedic work to reach us in full; only fragments survive concerning philosophy, military history, jurisprudence, oratory, and agriculture. Celsus’ contribution is based on the older body of work associated with the Greek Hippocrates, the ‘father of medicine’, and contains eight books: dietetics and medical theory; pathology and therapeutics; treatments, including some for the common cold and pneumonia; anatomical descriptions of various diseases; drugs, including opiates, diuretics, purgatives and laxatives; ulcers, skin lesions and diseases; surgery; and skeletal anatomy.

This is a copy of the fourth edition, printed by Filippo Pincio in Venice. It was mistakenly assumed to be Philip Melanchthon’s copy in the Sotheby's auction catalogue for Dr Georg Kloss’ library (p.74). 

Binding description
Rebound in the Royal Bindery using traditional medieval tools and materials like wooden boards and alum-tawed pigskin.