Ulrich Boner wrote a collection of fables entitled Der Edelstein (‘The Jewel’) (c. 1349), one hundred in number, which were based principally on those of Avianus (fourth century) and the Anonymus Neveleti (edited by Isaac Nicolas Nevelet, 1610) [1]. It was printed in 1461 at Bamberg by Albrecht Pfister and was one of the first books printed in the German language [1]. It is copiously illustrated with pen-and-link drawings [1, 2]. One illustration definitely represents a man with a huge goiter (Fig. 1). Basic description of the illustrations is provided by the Universitatsibibliothek Heidelberg (https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cpg794).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Representation of thyroid swelling, intended as an enlarged anterior neck region

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