Discorsi di Gieronimo Chiaramonte della secondissima città di Leontini nell'isola di Sicilia. Cioè della medicina fisica, e suoi effetti. Della terra medicata, e sue virtù. Dell'oro potabile, e sue marauiglie. Stampati per Vito Chiaramonte suo fratello MEDICINE. PHARMACY. ALCHEMY. Chiaramonte, Girolamo (fl. 1618-1630); Chiaramonte, Vito (d. after 1644)

Modern marbled boards. Some light marginal foxing, upper margin cut a bit close. Manuscript foliation indicating the book s former position within a volume of other tracts. Gutter of first and last leaf with minor repairs. No copies traced in North America. OCLC locates Wellcome only. A work on the preparation and use of potable gold and medicinal earth ("fullers earth", "Cimolian clay") for various ailments, including plague and the bloody flux (dysentery). With a half-page woodcut of the author and his brother holding alembics. Below the image are instructions for taking the potable gold: "For fevers, the liquid gold can be mixed with a bit of cordial water, for instance, one infused with scorzonera root or blessed thistle. For the bloody flux, mix the liquid gold with a bit of syrup of red coral; for other maladies, take it cold with a bit of white wine." The tracts, presented as the work of the deceased Sicilian physician and chemist GirolamoChiaramonte, were prepared for publication by his brother and assistant, Vito Chiaramonte, who asserted that his brother wished that they be published for the good of all. Girolamo, we are told, wanted to pass on not only the recipes of his medicines but also the practical knowledge of how to prepare and use them, so that those who wished to use them could be confident that they would not harm themselves or their patients. GirolamoChiaramonte, whose career was imbued with what Massimo Marra called "an ineffable charlatanism", achieved his first notable success in Messina in 1618, when he gained permission from the medical authorities to use an "elixir vitae" and a medicinal earth in treating patients. Later, he was employed by the Knights of Malta, dozens of whom gave testimonials on the efficacy of Chiaramonte s potions and preparations. He achieved similar successes on the Italian mainland, adding more testimonials of notable figures to his dossier. Given Chiaramonte s obsession with self-promotion, the question arises as to whether his brother Vito shared this instinct and was entirely honest when he asserted that the works he published in 1644 were in fact those of his famous brother. Perhaps he was merely cashing in on his brother s name?