1840. Large 8vo, pp. viii, 272; with sixteen folding lithograph plates; preliminary leaves and final two gatherings a little browned and foxed (possibly differing paper stock), with occasional light spotting and soiling throughout, but otherwise quite clean and crisp, upper corners of plates a little furled, fore-edge of plate XIII dust-soiled with small marginal tear and signs of folds having been repressed, with further light foxing to some of the plates, but generally bright; a presentation binding in full green morocco, spine in compartments with raised bands, lettered and decorated in gilt, boards ruled, and stamped in gilt on upper cover ‘École d’Accouchement de Paris. 6. Prix de vigilance clinique. Décerné à Mademoiselle Beauregard, 1859’, upper cover a little darkened in places with some worming, with further silverfish wear to rear cover, joints and extremities lightly rubbed; a good copy. An attractive presentation copy awarded to a young student midwife at the Parisian École d’Accouchement, of the first French edition of Naegele’s important obstetrical work. His work constitutes ‘the first description of the obliquely contracted or Naegele pelvis. Because of its rarity and the difficulty of recognizing it clinically in living subjects, the obliquely contracted pelvis, with its most often fatal consequences at delivery, was unknown until Naegélé's study of 37 cases. He suggested diagnostic aids for its recognition’ (Garrison & Morton 6257 for the original German edition of 1839.)
A handwritten note on the front free endpaper reveals the recipient to be ‘Julie Dubut née Beauregard sage-femme, [Gabriac?] 1857-1908’, with the binding itself noting that she had received the 6th prize for clinical vigilance by the Paris midwifery school for the year 1859.
‘Naegele [1778-1851] was professor and director of the Obstetrical Hospital at Heidelberg, and it was there, in 1839, that he wrote this highly regarded and original work on the obliquely contracted pelvis. The work was of immediate value to practicing obstetricians; the ensuing years have added little information to his original observations. The beautifully rendered lithographs are reproduced faithfully in this, the first edition in English published 100 years later’ (Heirs 1339 for the first English edition of 1939).