LOWER, Richard (1631-1691) - photo 1
LOWER, Richard (1631-1691) - photo 2
LOWER, Richard (1631-1691) - photo 3

LOWER, Richard (1631-1691)

Lot 182
10.12.2025 12:00UTC +00:00
Classic
To bid, go to the website
CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
ID 1514525
Lot 182 | LOWER, Richard (1631-1691)
Estimate value
£ 10 000 – 15 000
LOWER, Richard (1631-1691)
Tractatus de corde. Item De Motu & Colore Sanguinis et Chyli in eum Transitu. London: John Redmayne, 1669.
Fine first edition, first issue of ‘the most important contribution to circulatory physiology after William Harvey's De motu cordis’. It contains the first account of blood transfusion, as well as the first description of the heart as a muscle and the heartbeat as a muscular contraction.

Born into a wealthy Cornish family, Richard Lower became an associate of the famous physician Thomas Willis and, along with Richard Hooke and Robert Boyle, spent the Interregnum performing experimental research at Oxford. His work and observations on the heart, lungs, and blood—including techniques for blood transfusion—are recorded in the present publication, which effectively completes Harvey's work on the heart. ‘Lower's book received praise from British and Continental physicians and scientists and helped establish its author's reputation as the leading investigator, after William Harvey, of the anatomy and physiology of the circulation of the blood’ (Grolier Medicine).

The present copy is an example of the rare first issue, with leaf A6 in its uncancelled state, of which only a handful of examples are recorded in auction history. In the second issue, A6 is replaced by a cancellans in which Lower mollifies his criticism of Edmund O'Meara, whom in Latin he had described as ‘outstanding for his exceptional stupidity and impudence’. ESTC R3702; Norman 1397; Grolier Medicine 34; Garrison and Morton 761; Grolier Medicine 34; NLM/Krivatsky 7157; PMM 149.

Octavo (166 x 107mm). Woodcut headpieces, initials, 7 engraved folding plates (Q1 with short closed tear just into text, a few plates trimmed just into plate mark). Contemporary blind-ruled English calf with blind-stamped fleurons at corners, modern spine labels lettered in gilt (rebacked preserving original spine and endpapers). Provenance: ‘Guglielmus Stevens’ (ownership inscription, likely 18th-century, on title) – [Royal Society of Medicine].
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.12.2025 – 10.12.2025
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
×
Save this search query and get timely email alerts! It is simple and very effective.
alexandre georges henri regnault (1843 - 1871)
Create a Search Subscription