Instruccion Para los Novicios Novicios de la Religion Bethlemitica....
Mexico City: Joseph Bernardo de Hogal, 1734. [20],264,[4]pp. Quarto. Contemporary vellum, manuscript spine title. Marca de fuego on top edge. Endpapers refreshed. Upper right corner of title page and penultimate leaf damaged and restored, with minor loss to printed area. Cello tape repairs throughout, mostly small and unobtrusive, but heavier to initial and final leaves. Light dampstaining to initial leaves; minor worming. Good plus. Item #6517
A rare manual for the training and use of Bethlehemite novices in New Spain that includes limited, but still substantial medical instruction. The Bethlehemite Order was the first religious order founded in the Americas, established in Guatemala in 1653 by Pedro de San José de Betancur. The order came to colonial Mexico in 1674. The Bethlehemite Brothers, as they called themselves, were devoted to the care the sick and poor through hospitals, education, and charitable work. The present work is divided into twenty chapters. The first nineteen contain the customary regulations governing religious life, the duties of novice masters, and the spiritual formation of members of the order. Of surmounting interest is the final chapter, which is devoted entirely to practical medical instruction. Because Bethlehemites worked in hospitals serving the poor and were often required to assist patients in the absence of a physician, novices received basic training in anatomy, emergency care, and the administration of remedies. The chapter explains the location of major organs and the proper application of treatments to different parts of the body, including the chest, stomach, heart, liver, and bladder. It also provides instructions for bandages, eye medications, gargles, tourniquets, fumigations, and antidotal oils. A significant colonial Mexican imprint from the press of Hogal, with highly unusual Catholic medical content and a Bethlehemite marca de fuego, and very rare. Not in OCLC, but Medina locates a single copy, at the National Library of Guatemala.
Medina Mexico 3343.
Price: $4,500.00