


Lot 20•
BECKETT (WILLIAM) A Free and Impartial Enquiry into the Antiquity of Touching for the Cure of King's Evil, J. Peele, 1722
29 March 2023, 13:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £382.50 inc. premium
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BECKETT (WILLIAM)
A Free and Impartial Enquiry into the Antiquity of Touching for the Cure of King's Evil... in Two Letters: the one to Dr. Steigertahl, Physician to his Majesty, Fellow of the College of Physicians, and of the Royal Society; the other to Sir Hans Sloane..., 3 parts in 1 vol., woodcut initial and head- and tail-pieces, some soiling (mainly to title and last leaf), later half calf, spine lettered in gilt, slight staining, spine rubbed, upper joint cracking [ESTC T94500; Wellcome I 127], 8vo, J. Peele, 1722
Footnotes
First and only edition of this scarce work on scrofula, which was known as the 'King's Evil' because English monarchs were supposed to be able to cure it by touching the affected person and presenting them with a coin. William Beckett was a renowned surgeon as well as a founding member of the Society of Antiquaries.