Very rare first and only edition of a large collection of stories that exemplify the sometimes fierce rivalries between doctors and apothecaries. It here forms part of an ongoing quarrel between the magistrates of the city of Brussels, represented by the new Collegium Medicum, and the city's apothecaries. In 1641 the city established the Collegium Medicum and published the Pharmacopoeia Bruxellensis in an attempt to regulate the apothecaries. This roused their dissatisfaction because they justifiably claimed they were underrepresented in the Collegium: in fact unrepresented, for all members were doctors. Apothecaries were often also grocers, and in 1659 they threatened to stop paying taxes on beer if the Collegium Medicum was not abolished. This threat succeeded for a few months, but the Collegium was soon re-established. The doctors had momentum and with the present publication they tried to silence the apothecaries' complaints for good. The quarrel continued nonetheless, until they came to an agreement in 1664.
Binding lightly worn; a very good copy. Krivatsy 2592; STCV (1 copy); WorldCat (2 copies); Cf. Vandewiele, Geschiedenis van de farmacie in België, pp. 152-155.