MEEKREN, Job Janszoon van (1611-1666)

The German edition of Meekren’s only and richly illustrated book, first published in Dutch in 1668 as Heel- en geneeskonstige aanmerkkingen. There was also a Latin edition in 1682. van Meekren, a pupil of Nicholas Tulp, was a famous surgeon in Amsterdam and also surgeon to the Navy and the Amsterdam Hospital. Tulp calls him ”chirurgus industrius” and Haller ”celebris et candidus chirurgus”. Among the numerous and unususal cases reported and illustrated by 60 engravings are the first operation of wry-neck and of numerous types of tumour. The ”Anhang” (pp 471-537) includes cases of monsters. Two of the remarkable engravings (frontispiece and p. 187) are showing abnormal elasticy of the skin. In 1657, a Spaniard, Georgius Albes, is reported to have been able to draw the skin of the left pectoral region to the left ear, or the skin under the face over the chin to the vertex. The skin over the knee could be extended half a yard, and when it retracted in its normal position it was not in folds. ”van Meekren was first to record a bone graft. He states (Chap. I) that he had read a report of it in a letter received by the rev. Engebert Sloot of Slooterdijk from John Kraanwinkel, a missionary in Russia, where the operation had been performed. It consisted of the transplantation of a piece of bone from a dog’s skull into a cranial defect in a soldier. Although healing was perfect, the Church ordered the removal of the graft.” (Garrison-Morton).

Collation: Pp (14), 537, (23), with engraved frontispiece, 9 wood-cuts and 60 engraved illustrations in the text.

Binding: Contemporary half calf, with 4 raised bands and sprinkled boards.

Provenance: D. E. Pilgren. Christopher Carlander (1759–1848), whose mark [ :/: ] is found on the title page.