This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/1/2023
MARIANI, Angelo (1838-1914). Coca and its Therapeutic Application. New York: J.N. Jaros, 1890.
8vo. Numerous wood-engraved plates and vignettes in the text. Original blindstamped brown cloth lettered in gilt, edges gilt, brown coated endpapers (some spotting along spine and extremities, else fine).
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, AND THE FIRST TRANSLATION IN ENGLISH, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR to an American physician. Mariani achieved fame for his cure-all Vin Mariani coca wine, a drink that contained cocaine and is seen as the precursor to Coca-Cola. Mariani “was the greatest exponent of coca the world has ever known. He lived amongst the Incan artifacts, cultivated a coca garden in Paris, and ultimately founded a business empire by producing and marketing a tonic wine made from an infusion of coca leaves” (Phantastica 170; this copy). A Horowitz high spot.