Pseudo-Aristotle
Title page and frontispiece of Aristotle’s Master-piece Improved. (London: Printed, and sold by the book sellers, 1766)Master-piece first appeared in England in the 1690s as a popular guide to human reproduction; it was later published in more than 100 editions. Aristotle’s name was most likely used in order to add legitimacy to the work by claiming it had ancient, scientific sources. The true author is unknown.
The frontispiece of nearly every edition shows a hirsute woman and child by the desk of a scholar, most likely depicting popular notions of the time about the causes of birth defects.