French (& Latin) Editions (1575-1628)
1st Edition: 1575
The first edition of Paré's collected works was published in Paris by Gabriel Buon. Paré had obtained the King's privilege (royal permission to print), but on May 5 1575, two weeks after the book had finished printing, the Faculté de Medicine held a meeting to condemn the book. It was written in French, not Latin; it touched on topics like the treatment of fevers, which were legally the province of physicians, not surgeons; it was immoral; Paré was uneducated and had only received his Masters because the king demanded it. Etienne Gourmelen, head of the Faculté and personal enemy of Paré, attempted to block the publication by reviving a 1535 decree that forbid the printing of any book of medicine that had not been approved by the Faculté de Medicine. The case went to Parliament on July 14 1575. A representative of the aldermen and merchants demanded that the book be burned. A man named André Malzieu accused Paré of plagiarizing a translation of Gourmelen. Parliament confirmed the decree, but was unable to stop the spread of the book, as it had already been published (Paget 200-1, Packard 106-7).
2nd Edition: 1579
This edition was subject to the new decree. Paré had to obtain permission from the Faculté de Medicine before it could be published. He removed the offending book on fevers and scattered the material it contained through his book on tumors, removed a discussion of the use of antimony from his book on the plague, and added a paragraph about the necessity of taking astrological precautions before cataract surgery. He also added books on embalming, animals, and distillations (Packard 113). The edition passed inspection, possibly because Gourmelen had been replaced as head of the Faculté by a man who may have been related to Paré's wife (Paget 203).
3rd Edition: 1582
The third edition of Paré's work, a translation into Latin by Jacques Guillemeau, once again attracted outrage from the Faculté de Medicine, who refused to accept a Latin translation could be made by anyone who wasn't a member. They formed a committee and came up with various schemes to stop the presses, including creating their own Latin title and pretending to work on another translation so that they could order 'incorrect' versions to be torn up (Paget 204-5). Unfortunately for them, Paré had the book printed in Germany, and they were unable to interfere (Packard 120).
4th Edition: 1585
The final edition published in Paré's lifetime was yet again influenced by his rivalry with Gourmelen. It included his new "Apology and Journeys", an account of his time with the army written in response to an attack Gourmelen had made on the use of the ligature. The Faculté de Medicine did not attempt to block publication of this edition, though one of Gourmelen's students did answer its challenge by accusing Paré of plagiarism, ignorance, and causing his brother-in-law's death post-amputation through his refusal to cauterize the wound (Packard 120).
5th Edition: 1598
This was the first edition published post-humously, though Paré had begun work on it before he died, and it contains his last additions and emendations. According to Doe, only nine copies of this edition had been found as of 1937 (92).
6th Editon: 1607
This edition has two title page variants, featuring imprints from two different publishers. It also has an added editorial interjection recommending induced labour, which Paré was said to have practiced (Doe 92).
7th Edition: 1614
Again printed under two different publishing imprints, this edition showed little change from the 1607 edition (Doe 92).
8th Edition: 1628
A thirtieth book, on fevers, was added to this edition. The editors claimed it was a new discovery of a text which had been added to the index of the 1598 edition by Paré, but not included in the printing. It is unlikely that this book was legitimately written by Paré (Doe 92). His treatment of fevers, as has already been discussed, was supressed and scattered throughout the book on tumours.
9th-13th Editions
The 1628 edition was the last published in Paris. Between 1633-1685 five editions were published in Lyon, though they were of inferior quality to the Parisian volumes and included much corruption of the text (Paget 245). They all used a new set of woodcuts which were clumsily copied from the originals. This series of editions is condemned by scholars: "And in 1685 the last, the unlucky thirteenth, came out, to fall into an oblivion deserved by its wretched typography, worn wood blocks, and sleazy paper" (Doe 93).
English Editions (1634-1691)
1st Edition: 1634
The workes of that famous chirurgion Ambrose Parey translated out of Latin and compared with the French. by Tho: Johnson.
This is the first English printing of the works, and the same edition as the UBC copy discussed in this blog. It was printed by Thomas Cotes and Richard Young. All of the books were translated from the 1582 Latin edition, except for the "Apologie and Voyages," which was added to the 1585 edition and translated from the French by George Baker (Doe 96).
Thomas Cotes ran the printing house at the Half-Eagle and Key - the same printing house that had published Shakespeare's first folio only 11 years earlier under William Jaggard (Plomer 53). Cotes was Jaggard's apprentice.
This is the first English printing of the works, and the same edition as the UBC copy discussed in this blog. It was printed by Thomas Cotes and Richard Young. All of the books were translated from the 1582 Latin edition, except for the "Apologie and Voyages," which was added to the 1585 edition and translated from the French by George Baker (Doe 96).
Thomas Cotes ran the printing house at the Half-Eagle and Key - the same printing house that had published Shakespeare's first folio only 11 years earlier under William Jaggard (Plomer 53). Cotes was Jaggard's apprentice.
2nd Edition: 1649
The workes of that famous chirurgion Ambrose Parey translated out of Latin and compared with the French. by Tho: Johnson. Whereunto are added three tractates our of Adrianus Spigelius of the veines, arteries, & nerves, with large figures. Also a table of the bookes and chapters.
This edition was printed by Thomas Cotes' brother, Richard, who inherited the business when Thomas died in 1642 (Plomer 53), and licenced to be sold by John Clarke. Three anatomical treatises by Spigelius were added to this printing and appeared in all following editions.
This edition was printed by Thomas Cotes' brother, Richard, who inherited the business when Thomas died in 1642 (Plomer 53), and licenced to be sold by John Clarke. Three anatomical treatises by Spigelius were added to this printing and appeared in all following editions.
3rd & 4th Editions: 1665 & 1678
The workes of that famous chirurgion Ambrose Parey translated out of Latin and compared with the French. by Tho: Johnson. Whereunto are added three tractates our of Adrianus Spigelius of the veines, arteries, & nerves, with large figures. Also a table of the bookes and chapters.
These editions were 'cheaper' printings, with smaller text on lower quality paper (Doe 96). The 1665 edition was printed by E. C. (Likely Ellen Cotes, who took over her husband Richard's business after his death (Plomer 53), and again sold by John Clarke and the 1678 edition was printed by Mary Clark and sold by another John Clarke, the son of the first (Plomer 46).
These editions were 'cheaper' printings, with smaller text on lower quality paper (Doe 96). The 1665 edition was printed by E. C. (Likely Ellen Cotes, who took over her husband Richard's business after his death (Plomer 53), and again sold by John Clarke and the 1678 edition was printed by Mary Clark and sold by another John Clarke, the son of the first (Plomer 46).
5th Edition: 1691
The works of Ambrose Parey chyrurgeon to Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III, Kings of France.
Printed by Joseph Hindmarsh at the Golden Ball publishing house. The marketing here seems to have become slightly desperate, as evidenced by the title page. According to Doe, this edition was made up of sheets "left" from the 1678 printing, and may have been a small batch, as only four copies were extant in 1937 (97).
Printed by Joseph Hindmarsh at the Golden Ball publishing house. The marketing here seems to have become slightly desperate, as evidenced by the title page. According to Doe, this edition was made up of sheets "left" from the 1678 printing, and may have been a small batch, as only four copies were extant in 1937 (97).
Other Translations
A Dutch translation was made in 1585, and was reprinted multiple times over the next 60 years. Interestingly, Dutch trade relations with Japan seem to have led to Japanese translations of the sections on surgery - the earliest record of which is a manuscript from 1706 (Doe 97-8). A German translation was made in 1601, and a revised 2nd edition was published in 1635 (Doe 96). The only other contemporary editions were reprints of the Latin edition in Frankfurt in 1594, 1610 and 1612. The 1610 and 1612 editions were packaged with works on surgery by other authors (Doe 95).