Images of touch-pieces for scrofula.
In 1896, William Andrews published The doctor; in history, literature, folklore, etc.
Andrews assembled 20 chapters written by a variety of authors, including at least one woman (Mrs. G. Linnaeus Banks although, of course, the name may be a pseudonym). Continue reading
Sample diet from "Foods for the Fat."
In current health and medical news, “obesity” is a much-used term — the current state of fright over the weight status of the “average” American would seem to be a relatively new issue being linked to everything from children’s inability to pay attention in school to the rise of Type II diabetes in adults.
But the MHL collections include plenty of older material that evinces an extremely modern concern with weight, weight-related health issues, and weight loss. Included in that number is Nathaniel Edward Davies’ 1896 Foods for the Fat: A Treatise on Corpulency and a Dietary for Its Cure. Continue reading
Distillery equipment.
Lewis Feuchtwanger’s 1858 Fermented Liquors is much more than the subtitle implies: a treatise on brewing, distilling, rectifying, and manufacturing of sugars, wines, spirits, and all known liquors, including cider and vinegar. Also, hundreds of valuable directions in medicine, metallurgy, pyrotechny, and the arts in general. Continue reading
Reproduction of papyrus page from "History of Medicine."
The University of Edinburgh has a long and distinguished history as a school of medicine. In 1900, they published a History of Medicine: Syllabus and Specimen Extracts, combining what we would think of now as a schedule of lectures with the primary source documents (in modern terms) to be used and discussed in the class. Continue reading
One of our partners, the National Library of Medicine, has recently added lots of new titles to the MHL. Here are a few highlights… Continue reading
Title page from "Life in the Sick-Room." Click the image to go directly to the book!
For several years in the mid-nineteenth century starting in 1839, English social activist Harriet Martineau was a housebound invalid, suffering from the pain of a tumor. Before this period, she was an extremely active writer and traveller, moving around the United Kingdom and the United States to examine living conditions and current affairs in both countries. Continue reading
Title page of "The Misfortunes of Mary Roesly."
Mary Roesly, a young Massachusetts woman, was waiting for a train in 1864: “By a sudden start, as I had just mounted the car platform, I was instantly thrown under the car, and my arm was crushed at the elbow…” (6) Continue reading
Portrait of Eliza Lyman from "The Coming Woman."
In the past few weeks, some wonderful 19th century books on home health care and what might be loosely called “advice manuals,” particularly for women, have come into our collection.
Here are a few highlights… Continue reading
Title page from "Home and Health and Home Economics."
Manuals of behavior, etiquette, deportment, and home economics are common publications even today. The authors of the 1880 Home and Health and Home Economics would probably have a very hard time recognizing the relationship between their publication and, say, Netiquette. Continue reading
Title page from "An Account of the Disease..."
Medical mysteries are a popular genre — or subgenre, depending on how you classify it! The details of Napoleon’s poisoning, the exact violence used on the Romanovs or Rasputin, or the “Black Dahlia” murder are historical narratives that still get readers. Alongside these large-scale stories, though, there are smaller puzzles in the history of medicine and science. Continue reading
