#spinetingling

We're working our way through a collection of books related to the history of medicine, and are excited to share some of these with you down the road. Watch out for #PopMedMondays!

This engraving sure makes us feel a little closer to Halloween! It comes from the 1725 edition of "Todten-Tantz," or Dance of Death. A common allegory in Christian Europe, the Dance of Death was meant to serve as a reminder that death comes for all people, no matter their social rank, age, or devoutness. The engravings in this book were originally made by Matthaeus Merian in the early 1600s, and each one depicts death leading off a different type of person, including a pope, a king, a merchant, a heathen, and a painter. Death with the Abbess is shown here. [N7720 .M47 1725] #SpineTingling #rubensteinlib #iglibraries #librariesofinstagram #rarebooks #danceofdeath https://www.instagram.com/p/BpUnwSzFVQL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17tqwu598g9qb

This week’s #SpineTingling entry is a book about the war against demons. We pulled out this spine from the shelf because its innocuous binding, combined with its mystical, grave subject matter (in Latin) made us think of a movie prop. This book is something a character like Van Helsing would peruse for guidance in vanquishing evil. Printed in Bologna in 1623, this title comes from the Lea collection. Philadelphia publisher, historian, and civic reformer Henry Charles Lea collected an extensive amount of works on ecclesiastical history, magic, and witchcraft. Follow this link to see the full digitized collection: http://ow.ly/Zjao30m48Vx Call number: PA8585.V225 D34 http://ow.ly/ZnNF30m491B * * * #wednesdaychallenge #bookspines #iglibraries #libariesofinstagram #rarebooks #demon #vanhelsing #demonology #pennlibraries #kislakcenter #specialcollections https://www.instagram.com/p/BpChCmlAq6w/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=eenscpzxddsy

This frisky little furball pounced at us from the spine of J.G. Wood's The Illustrated Natural History (New York, 1853) just in time for #PublishersBindingThursday.

From: Hortus sanitatis, [Strasburg : Johann Prüss, 149-?]

Some Wednesday moods: us at 9am vs us at 5pm. Dramatic skeletons from The workes of that famous chirurgion Ambrose Parey translated out of Latine and compared with the French. London:Th. Cotes and R. Young, 1634.