Brenda Dunn-Lardeau gazes at three copies of Pliny’s Encyclopedia on the natural world in a glass case in the entryway of McGill University’s Osler Library of the History of Medicine.

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The influential Historia naturalis was written by the ancient Roman scientist and statesman in the first century AD. But these versions were published in Germany in the 15th century, after Gutenberg’s printing press revolutionized the dissemination of information, then were intricately hand-decorated by artisans in Italy for wealthy buyers.

This is the first time these 1472, 1481 and 1497 editions of Pliny — and several other early books known as incunabula — have been put on display. They are part of an exhibition at the Osler Library that lasts until April 2, offering an opportunity to behold some of the building blocks of medical discovery and glimpse the rich holdings of an institution that, though world renowned, is not well known to Montrealers.

“Here we have a very, very precious Pliny cluster,” said Dunn-Lardeau, an associate professor of medieval and........

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