Bourgeois, Louise. — Various Observations on Infertility, Mi - Lot 276

Bourgeois, Louise. — Various Observations on Infertility, Miscarriage, Fertility, Childbirth, and Diseases of Women and Newborns, Thoroughly Discussed and Successfully Practiced by L. Bourgeois, known as Boursier, the Queen’s Midwife. A useful and necessary work for all people. Paris: A. Saugrain, 1609 - Engraved title page; on the reverse, a portrait of Marie de Médicis; [6 ff.], including a portrait of Louise Bourgeois colored in modern times; 8 pp., 223 pp., [1 p.] [2 ff.] (numerous pagination errors). Followed by: Observations by Louyse Bourgeois, known as Boursier, the Queen’s Midwife. Book Two. Paris, Abraham Saugrain, 1617. [4 ff.], 251 pp., [1 p.], [2 ff.], a cardboard insert of 2 ff. between pages 16–17. In-12, 18th-century marbled calfskin, decorated ribbed spine, chiseled notches, mottled edges—capitals torn off, jaws rubbed, corners blunt, a few stains. First edition. Louise Bourgeois (1563–1636), a student of Ambroise Paré, was the personal midwife to Queen Marie de’ Medici. This work is the first book on obstetrics written by a woman, and also the first based on anatomy. It served as a guide for midwives of the time. Written in a clear, precise style and filled with practical advice, it attests to the author’s excellent judgment and diagnostic skills and was long considered irreplaceable. Upon the birth of her sixth child, Henry IV granted Louise Bourgeois a pension of three hundred écus and provided a position for each of her two sons. Louyse Bourgeois emerges as a pioneer in the professionalization of midwifery and paved the way for women such as Marguerite La Marche—who also authored manuals for midwives—and, after her, Mme Le Boursier du Coudray.