LAFOSSE (Philippe-Étienne). - Lot 39

LAFOSSE (Philippe-Étienne). Observations and discoveries made on horses, with a new practice on shoeing. Paris: Hochereau le jeune, 1754. [Followed by]: Traité Sur le véritable Siége de la morve des chevaux, et Les moyens d'y remédier. Paris: David père, Gonichon, 1749. [And of]: Nouvelle pratique de ferrer les chevaux, Afin de les rendre fermes sur le pavé sec, de rétablir les mauvais pieds & conserver les jambes. Avec un détail des Abus qui se commenttent dans la Maréchallerie. Paris: Guillaume Desprez, Hochereau l'aîne, 1758. -3 works in one volume in-8, 193x121: (1 f.), 42 pp. 3 plates; (4 ff.), 24 pp. 43-80, (1 f.), 1 plate; (4 ff.), 95 pp. 3 plates. Marbled calf, smooth spine decorated, red edges (period binding). Collection of 3 highly sought-after works by veterinarian Philippe-Étienne Lafosse (1738-1820). He was part of a family dynasty "that exerted its influence for over a century, transforming former farriers into hippiatrists, then into veterinary surgeons" (Alain Bouchet, Les Leçons d'anatomie sur les animaux, in: Histoire des sciences médicales, tome XL, n°4, 2006, p. 334). The subjects dealt with in the three texts that make up this factitious collection are clearly indicated on the titles. The first is in its original edition. It originally consisted of three parts. Only the first two have been retained here, namely Observations sur les Accidens qui arrivent souvent aux pieds des Chevaux & qui les font boiter subitement, sans qu'on puisse distinguer d'où vient le mal (pp. 1 to 42) and Suite d'expériences et observations nouvelles sur la morve (pp. 43-80), which was logically bound after the second work in the collection, as it forms its complement. The third part, which would have occupied pages 81 to 125, was devoted to the Nouvelle pratique de ferrer les chevaux de selle et de carosse. It has been replaced here by a new edition of the Nouvelle pratique de ferrer les chevaux of 1758, much more complete and ample than the missing part. The first work comprises 4 plates. The first two have been glued together to form a long frieze, and the figures have been colored at the time. The last treatise contains 3 plates. The C2 leaf in the first volume is hardback. A good copy in contemporary binding. Minor wormholes at one hinge, scratched super-libris on first cover, corners dulled.