Jean Blondelet was certainly the greatest collector of medical books in the 20th century, and the most discreet as well. The Jean Blondelet library fascinated on 31 May last year, and on 8 February this year it will fascinate again: an exciting collection running through the key moments of medical history, the first illustrations of human dissections, from the surgery of the wars of the Renaissance to controversies about the circulation of the blood and the functions of the brain, it was equally enchanting in the portrait of the collector who brought these books together. Each of these copies is an 'open book' about the personality of this bibliophile: Jean Blondelet brings the history of ancient medicine to life by looking for 'living' examples. For him, a book was more than a published copy. It was living testimony to the discovery set out in it, the vision of the patron who financed it, and often the courage of the printer who revealed it in words and images. Looking at each of these books, one question is enough, posed in all confidence: why did Jean Blondelet want to own this copy?
Livres et Manuscrits
8 February | Paris