Nose job book from 1597 sells at auction

Bought by a plastic surgeon, the book addresses the rhinoplasty procedure in writings dating back to 1597. It proves that the obsession with going under the knife dates back way before the 20th century.

It is unknown if the plastic surgeon will try the old techniques, though his customers will likely hope not.

Called De Curtorum Chirurgia Per Insitionem - translating as Surgery of Defects by Implantations - the book contains one diagram with a patient in bed and his forearm attached to his head. A flap of skin is then grafted from his bicep to his nose.

It was penned by Italian surgeon Gaspare Tagliacozzi, who helped reshape the noses of soldiers who had been affected by battles during various conflicts.

Selling the journal at the Dominic Winter Auction House in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, former owner Chris Albury said: 'It's a wonderful and rare book. The ­techniques were clearly well-thought of at the time, yet all was forgotten following Tagliacozzi's death.'

He added that religious ­authorities may have turned their own noses up at the work, as many may have seen it as '­interfering with God's work'.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/851469-nose-job-book-from-1597-sells-at-auction#ixzz19VnKnMl3