98 - PRADE (Jean Le Royer de).

PRADE (Jean Le Royer de). Discourse on Tobacco, with a Special Focus on Powdered Tobacco. Paris, Le Prest, 1668. 12mo, grained calfskin, decorated ribbed spine. First edition illustrated with three in-text woodcuts depicting tobacco plants. This is one of the earliest works published on this subject. The work was published under the pseudonym Baillard, which was replaced in the subsequent edition, published in 1677, by the author’s real name: Jean Le Royer de Prade (1640–1685), a friend of Cyrano de Bergerac. A staunch advocate of tobacco use—whether smoked or, above all, snuffed—he distinguishes three varieties: “masle” tobacco, “femelle” tobacco, and “petit tabac.” He provides details on its cultivation, refutes the negative opinions of certain physicians, and outlines its benefits: curing rheumatism, improving imagination and memory, healing ulcers, etc. A section of the book details the various methods of preparing tobacco, either on its own or mixed with various substances. A fine copy.