Castelli & Bruno — Amaltheum Castello-Brunonianum (Medical Lexicon) c.1699
Castelli & Bruno — Amaltheum Castello-Brunonianum (Medical Lexicon) c.1699
A landmark medical dictionary from the dawn of modern pharmacology — one of the most consulted medical reference works of the 17th and 18th centuries. Originally compiled by Sicilian physician Bartolomeo Castelli (first published Messina 1599 as Lexicon medicum Graeco-Latinum), this revised and vastly expanded edition by Swiss physician Jakob Pancraz Bruno was first issued at Nuremberg in 1682. The work remained a standard reference for physicians, apothecaries, and medical scholars throughout the Age of Enlightenment.
Quarto format, Latin text, contemporary binding. A superb piece of the history of medicine for a physician's study, medical library, or collector of early scientific works.
About Bartolomeo Castelli (c.1560–c.1607) & Jakob Pancraz Bruno (1629–1709)
Bartolomeo Castelli was a Sicilian physician from Messina who compiled the Lexicon medicum Graeco-Latinum, first published in Messina in 1599. Jakob Pancraz Bruno was a Swiss physician who revised and vastly expanded Castelli's work, adding the Nomenclatura Exaglotta (six-language nomenclature) that made the book indispensable for physicians working across linguistic boundaries. Johann Rhodius added further supplementary material in later editions.
About the Work
The Amaltheum Castello-Brunonianum is a comprehensive multilingual medical lexicon covering anatomy, pathology, chemistry, materia medica, and surgical terminology. It draws on the classical medical tradition — Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna — while incorporating the scientific advances of the 17th century. The work was printed in many editions at Nuremberg, Padua, and other European centers from 1682 onward.
Scarcity & Market Context
Complete editions appear at antiquarian dealers (Libreria Govi, AbeBooks specialist sellers) in the $400–$900 range depending on edition and condition. The work is one of the foundational medical dictionaries of early modern Europe and remains sought after by collectors of history of medicine, pharmacy, and early scientific reference works.
Institutional Holdings
Copies at the Wellcome Library (London), the Library of Congress (History of Medicine Division), Harvard's Countway Library of Medicine, and major medical history collections.
Dimensions
Quarto format, approximately 8 × 6 × 2.5 inches
Format: This is a bound book (not framed). Dimensions above refer to the book's physical size. Individual plates or pages cannot be separated without damaging the binding.
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