Facets

1726

#5415

An historical account of the small-pox inoculated in New-England, upon all sorts of persons, whites, blacks, and of all ages and constitutions: With some account of the nature of the infection in the natural and inoculated way, and their different effects on human bodies; with some short directions to the unexperienced in this method of practice .

Boylston was the first in America to inoculate for smallpox, at Boston on 26 June 1721. "During a smallpox outbreak in 1721 in Boston, he inoculated about 248 people[5] by applying pus from a smallpox sore to a small …

1734

#9675

Every man his own doctor: or, The poor planter's physician. Prescribing plain and easy means for persons to cure themselves of all, or most of the distempers, incident to this climate, and with very little charge, the medicines being chiefly of the growth and production of this country.

The first medical hand-book for lay persons written and published in America. It is probable that this book was first published in 1734, though the earliest recorded copy or copies appear to be the "second edition" wi…

1765

#1766.5

A discourse upon the institution of medical schools in America.…

The first American publication on medical education. Morgan founded the first medical school in the United States, in connection with what is now the University of Pennsylvania.

1769

#1763

A discourse upon the duties of a physician, with some sentiments, on the usefulness and necessity of a public hospital: Delivered before the president and governors of King's College, at the commencement, held on the 16th of May, 1769. As advice to those gentlemen who then received the first medical degrees conferred by that university.

The first American treatise on medical ethics, and the first treatise on medical ethics published in the English language. Samuel Bard was one of the founders of King’s College, New York. Digital facsimile from the Na…

1775

#7505

The history of the American Indians; particularly those nations adjoining to the Missisippi [sic] East and West Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia: containing an account of their origin, language, manners, religious and civil customs, laws, form of government, punishments, conduct in war and domestic life, their habits, diet, agriculture, manufactures, diseases and method of cure... With observations on former historians, the conduct of our colony governors, superintendents, missionaries, & c. Also an appendix, containing a description of the Floridas, and the Missisippi [sic] lands, with their productions--the benefits of colonizing Georgiana, and civilizing the Indians--and the way to make all the colonies more valuable to the mother country....

The author characterized himself on the title page as "a Trader with the Indians and a Resident in their Country for Forty Years." Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1785

#11450

Notes on the State of Virginia; written in the year 1781, somewhat corrected and enlarged in the winter of 1782, for the use of a foreigner of distinction, in answer to certain queries proposed by him.

Jefferson wrote Notes on the State of Virginia in response to a series of questions sent in 1781 to various members of the Continental Congress by François Barbé-Marbois, then secretary to the French legation at Phila…

1790

#3677.1

Remarks on the diseases of the teeth.

The first "scientific" paper on dentistry to appear in an American periodical. Trained in France, Gardette accepted a commission as a surgeon in the French navy and went to America in 1778 when France sent her ships t…

1791

#7770

Travels through North & South Carolina, George, East & West Florida, the Cherokee country, the extensive territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek confederacy, and the country of the Chactaws [sic]...

Digital facsimile of London, 1794 second edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

1801

#3678

A treatise on the human teeth, concisely explaining their structure and cause of disease and decay.

First American book on the teeth, a pamphlet of 26pp. It was intended for the lay public and listed sound rules of oral hygiene, explained the nature of dental diseases and their treatment, and stressed preventive mai…

1821

#7772

A journal of travels into the Arkansas territory, during the year 1819. With occasional observations on the manners of the aborigines. Illustrated by a map and other engravings.

Nuttall travelled from Philadelphia, down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the Arkansas. From there he travelled across Arkansas to the interior of the modern Oklahoma; returning via the Arkansas and Mississippi riv…

1823

#8798

Manners and customs of several Indian tribes located west of the Mississippi; including some account of the soil, climate, and vegetable productions, and the Indian materia medica: to which is prefixed the history of the author's life during a residence of several years among them.

Hunter claimed that as a child he had been captured by the Cherokee before they came to Texas. He adopted the name of an English benefactor, John Dunn, and later added the name "Hunter" given by the Indians because of…

1830

#9150

Gunn’s domestic medicine, or poor man’s friend in the hours of affliction, pain, and sickness. This book points out, in plain language, free from doctor's terms the diseases of men, women, and children, and the latest and most approved means used in their cure, and is expressly written for the benefit of families in the western and southern states. It also contains descriptions of the medicinal roots and herbs of the western and southern country, and how they are to be used in the cure of diseases: arranged on a new and simple plan, by which the practice of medicine reduced to the principles of common sense.

Gunn intended his book to serve as a guide for frontier and rural families who lived far away from any sort of medical care so it contained instructions on how to treat a wide variety of illnesses. While the first edi…

1832

#8630

Practical essays on medical education, and the medical profession, in the United States.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1836 –1837

#2123.1

On the influence of trades, professions, and occupations, in the United States in the production of disease.

The first American work devoted entirely to occupational diseases. Reprinted with introduction, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1943.

1837

#10107

The medical student; or, aids to the study of medicine. Including a glossary of the terms of the science, and of the mode of prescribing,--bibliographical notices of medical works; the regulations of different medical colleges of the union, &c. &c.

A remarkable survey of medical education in the U.S. at the time, with a thorough analysis of the different medical schools and the courses they offered, and an extensively annotated bibliography of 195 recommended me…

1837

#10411

The family nurse; or companion of the frugal housewife. Revised by a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Child was was an abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalist, and opponent of American expansionism. Her journals, both fiction and domestic manuals, reached wide audie…

1839

#201

Crania Americana; or, A comparative view of the skulls of various aboriginal nations of North and South America. To which is prefixed an essay on the varieties of the human species.

In his day Morton was the most eminent craniologist in the United States. He had a collection of nearly 1,000 skulls. In this work, which described both modern and fossil skulls, Morton described fractures and anthrop…

1840

#8828

Catalogue of skulls of man, and the inferior animals, in the collection of Samuel George Morton.

Numbers 901-929 in Morton's catalogue are "Thirty Skulls of genuine unmixed NEGROES born in Africa. This interesting series series was collected by Don José Rodriguez Cisnerso, M. D. of Havana, in the island of Cuba, …

1847

#10063

Proceedings of the National Medical Conventions, held in New York, May, 1846, and in Philadelphia, May, 1847.

The complete proceedings of the founding of the American Medical Association. This version also contains the text of the Code of Ethics written by Isaac Hayes and adopted by the AMA. In updated forms, this remains the…

1850

#11306

Constitution, by-laws and fee bill of the San Francisco Medical Society: Organized June 22, 1850.

This 8-page pamphlet is one of the earliest separate publications relating to medicine printed in the State of California. The "Society" disbanded shortly after this was published, perhaps over disputes concerning the…

1851

#10102

History of medical education and institutions in the United States: From the first settlement of the British colonies to the year 1850; with a chapter on the present condition and wants of the profession, and the means necessary for supplying those wants, and elevating the character and extending the usefulness of the whole profession.

Davis instrumental in the establishment of the American Medical Association and was twice elected its president. He became the first editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. He was a founder of the C…

1851

#10416

Ladies' indispensable assistant: Being a companion for the sister, mother, and wife ... Here are the very best directions for the behavior and etiquette of ladies and gentlemen ... ; also, safe directions for the management of children ... a great variety of valuable recipes, forming a complete system of family medicine ... : to which is added one of the best systems of cookery ever published ....

In spite of the verbose title, the Table of Contents of this work indicates that roughly the first half of the book concerns home remedies for the widest range of complaints and illnesses, and medical properties of pl…

1855

#10103

History of the American Medical Association, from its organization up to January, 1855. To which is appended biographical notices, with portraits of the presidents of the association, and of the author

The first history of the American Medical Association, founded in 1847, written by one of its chief founders. Digital facsimile from Hathi Trust at this link.

1856

#12319

Anatomical and surgical lectures.

A one-page advertising circular dated December 10, 1856 advertising Cooper's first course of private lectures in San Francisco. Cooper, founder of California’s (and the West Coast’s) first medical school, came to San …

1857

#8825

Indigenous races of the earth; or new chapters of ethnological enquiry: Including monographs on special departments of philology, iconography, cranioscopy, palaeontology, pathology, archaeology, comparative geography and natural history: Contributed by Alfred Maury, Francis Pulszky, and J. Aiken Meigs. With contributions from Jos. Leiden and L. Agassiz. Presenting fresh investigations by J. C. Nott and Geo. R. Glidden.

Expensively produced, and sold in both standard and large paper subscriber editions, Nott and Gliddon's work was one of the most egregiously racist publications in the history of physical anthropology. Nott, a promine…

1857

#8829

Catalogue of human crania, in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia: Based upon the third edition of Dr. Morton's "Catalogue of Skulls," &c.

"Since the death of the late lamented President of the Academy of Natural Sciences,- Dr. Samuel George Morton,- his magnifcent Collection of Human Crania, recently increased by the receipt of 67 skulls from various so…

1860

#10495

Illustrated wholesale catalogue of surgical and dental instruments, elastic trusses, medical saddle bags, abdominal supporters, shoulder braces and druggists sundries, offered by Snowden & Brother.

Snowden & Brother provided an excellent selection of the exact types of equipment used by the Union Army during the Civil War. Facsimile reprint, with John Weiss & Son 1863 catalogue, with a new introduction by James …

1862

#10440

Chinese immigration and the physiological causes of the decay of a nation.

Medical justification for racism, racial prejudice, and xenophobia in its purest sense. The author, a physician, also published several works of conventional medicine. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at th…

1864

#8994

The female spy of the union army. The thrilling adventures, experiences, and escapes of a woman nurse, spy, and scout, in hospitals, camps and battlefields.

Digital facsimile of a reprint of the 1864 edition from the Internet Archive at this link. Reissued in 1865 as Nurse and spy in the Union Army: Containing the adventures and experience of a woman in hospitals, camps, …

1866

#13706

A journal of hospital life in the Confederate Army of Tennessee from the Battle of Shiloh to the end of the war: With sketches of life and character, and brief notices of current events during that period.

"[B]y far the fullest and most informative of narratives of the Confederate women who served as nurses" (In Tall Cotton). Cumming responded to calls for volunteers and worked as a field nurse from 1862 through the end…

1867

#13345

Three years in field hospitals of the Army of the Potomac.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1870

#13032

The boys in white: The experience of a hospital agent in and around Washington.

An account of the author's experiences as a nurse working in Washington, D.C. hospitals during the U.S. Civil War. Wheelock became known as the "Florence Nightingale of Michigan." Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trus…

1874

#6585

Contributions to the annals of medical progress and medical education in the United States before and during the War of Independence.

Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1875

#7818

Statistics, medical and anthropological, of the Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau, derived from records of the examination for military service in the armies of the United States during the late War of the Rebellion, of over a million recruits.... 2 vols.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1876

#10412

The people's medical advisor.

A graduate of the Eclectic Medical College in Cincinnati, Vaughn was a member of the New York State Senate (31st D.) in 1878 and 1879, and was elected as a Republican to the 46th United States Congress, holding office…

1878

#11536

A manual of nursing prepared for the Training School for Nurses attached to Bellevue Hospital. [Compiled and edited by Dr. Victoria White.]

The Training School for Nurses attached to Bellevue Hospital opened in 1873, the first school in United States run according to Florence Nightingale's nursing principles. Among other things, these principles called fo…

1878

#11538

A hand-book of nursing for family and general use. Published under the direction of the Connecticut Training-School for Nurses, State Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut.

The Connecticut Training-School for Nurses opened in 1873, and the first edition of this manual was copyright 1878, the same year as the Bellevue manual. However, it is believed that the first copies of this work were…

1884

#10114

Medical education and the regulation of the practice of medicine in the United States and Canada. prepared by the Illinois State Board of Health, and published by permission of the board.

Rauch, Secretary of the Illinois State Board of Health, was responsible for compiling and publishing this detailed report. It was the most important and comprehensive summary of American, and Canadian medical educatio…

1886

#10350

The relation of hospitals to medical education.

Withington, pp. 18-22, proposed Bills of Rights for subjects of experiments "to secure patients again any injustice from the votaries of science." Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1888

#8996

My story of the war: The Civil War memories of the famous nurse, relief organizer and suffragette.

1888

#13173

L'Enseignement et l'organisation de l'art dentaire aux États-Unis. Rapport adresse à Monsieur le Ministre de l'Instruction publique.

The first study of the American dental profession, and the system of teaching dentistry in the United States.

1892

#6452.1

The medicine-men of the Apache.

Bourke, a U.S. Army officer with experience on the American Indian frontier, was a pioneer student of native American medicine and anthropology. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1895

#9001

Our army nurses. Interesting sketches, addresses, and photographs of nearly one hundred of the noble women who served in hospitals and on battlefields during our civil war.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1896

#10825

Medical and dental colleges of the west: Historical and biographical.

Covers institutions in Chicago and environs: Augustana Hospital, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, Mercy Hospital, Michael Reese Hospital, Northwestern University Medical …

1897

#12608

Standard history of the medical profession of Philadelphia. Edited by Frederick P. Henry, with the collaboration of James M. Anders....

"The materials of the first five chapters were collected by an experienced historian in the employ of the publishers"--Pref. 2nd ed; 1977, identifies as Burton Alva Konkle. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at th…

1900

#9475

The ethno-botany of the Coahuilla Indians.

"The ʔívil̃uqaletem (or Ivilyuqaletem) are Native Americans of the inland areas of southern California.[2] Their original territory included an area of about 2,400 square miles (6,200 km2). The traditional Cahuilla te…

c. 1903

#10827

The College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and its founders, officers, instructors, benefactors and alumni: A history. Edited by John Shrady. 2 vols.

A massive history of nearly 1200 pages issued by the publisher of the similarly huge history of the Rush Medical College (No. 10826). Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1904

#10826

The Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia: Benefactors, alumni, hospital, etc., its founders, officers, instructors, 1826-1904: A history. Edited by George M. Gould. 2 vols.

A massive history, consisting of nearly 1100 pages. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1908

#6455.1

Physiological and medical observations among the Indians of Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1910

#1766.502

Medical education in the United States and Canada.

This report caused massive reforms in North American medical education, including the closure or merging with stronger institutions, of 76 medical schools between 1910 and 1920. Part 1 is a history and analysis of med…