Facets

1822

#10068

A treatise on the materia medica, intended as a sequel to the Pharmacopoeia of the United States: Being an account of the origin, qualities and medical uses of the articles and compounds, which constitute that work, with their modes of prescription and administration.

Bigelow, who with Lyman Spalding, was largely responsible for the creation and publication in 1820 of the first U.S. pharmacopeia, published this valuable explanatory and supplementary volume two years later. It was p…

1823

#4851.1

Case reports: From injuries of the head.

Dudley was for many years the leading surgeon on the western frontier of the United States. This paper reports the first operations on the brain performed in the United States. Three of the five patients were relieved…

1823

#6584.9

A military journal during the American Revolutionary War, from 1775-1783…

The first American medical historian, Thacher gave the best contemporary account of medicine during the Revolutionary War, as well as an important history of the war in general. See No. 6710.

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…

1824 –1828

#9484

American entomology, or descriptions of the insects of North America. Illustrated by coloured figures from original drawings executed from nature. 3 vols.

Plates by Titian Ramsay Peale, H. Bridport, C. A. Lesueur, W. W. Wood, and C. Tiebout; engraved by Tiebout, G. Lang, and Longacre. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1824

#11315

Report on the state of the anatomical museum of the University of Pennsylvania, 30th June, 1824.

This 36-page pamphlet is the earliest printed record of Caspar Wispar's museum collection. It was augmented by William Horner, whom Wistar appointed to manage the collection. The combined collections beame known as th…

1825

#2074

Wanderings in South America, the North-West of the United States, and the Antilles, in the years 1812, 1816, 1820, and 1824.

Waterton traveled to the Guyana region of South America to obtain curare. He provided a detailed description of its paralyzing effects, its preparation by distillation, and the blowpipe and darts used to deliver it. O…

1825

#6861

The characteristics of homoeopathia. From Hahnemann's "Geist der Homöopathischen Heil-lehre."

The first publication on homeopathy issued in the United States— a translation of Hahnemann's essay. The 24-page pamphlet was dedicated to David Hosack of New York, and gratuitously distributed to leading physicians t…

1825

#7603

Catalogue of the anatomical museum in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.

Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1825 –1828

#9499

American ornithology; or, the natural history of birds inhabiting the United States, not given by Wilson. 4 vols.

Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon, set out to document birds in the United States that were not mentioned by Alexander Wilson.

1825

#10518

Medical facts and inquiries, respecting the causes, nature, prevention and cure of fever: more expressly in relation to the endemic fevers of summer and autumn in the southern states: Together with a history of the bilious remitting fever of Alabama, as it appeared in Cahawba and its vicinity in the summers and autumns of 1821 and 1822.

Digital facsimile from the U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.

1825

#11730

Report of the trial of an action: Charles Lowell against John Faxon and Micajah Hawks, doctors of medicine, defendants, for malpractice in the capacity of physicians and surgeons: At the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, holden at Machias for the county of Washington, June term, 1824, before the Hon. Nathan Weston, Jun., justice of the court.

A detailed narrative on the trial based on the transcript. Digital facsimile from the U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.

1826

#6026.1

A treatise on the diseases of females.

First American textbook on gynecology.

1826

#10513

A compendium of the flora of the northern and middle states, containing generic and specific descriptions of all the plants, exclusive of the cryptogamia, hitherto found in the United States, north of the Potomac.

Published after Torrey's appointment as profess or chemistry at West Point, in a small, handy format for botanical students, that "its small size will enable them to use it without inconvenience in their herborization…

1826

#11415

Observations on the May-Bug, and its ravages on plum and other trees, and also on the means of preventing the mischief.

Griffth was probably the first American woman to publish in the sciences outside of materia medica and childcare. This article was probably her earliest non-geological publication. See Robt S. Cox, "A spontaneous flow…

1826

#11728

A letter to the Hon. Isaac Parker, chief justice of the Supreme court of the state of Massachusetts, containing remarks on the dislocation of the hip joint, occasioned by the publication of a trial which took place at Machias, in the state of Maine, June, 1824. By John C. Warren. With an appendix of documents from the trial necessary to illustrate the history of the case.

This work, illustrated with 5 plates, contains several clear and minute descriptions of dislocation of the hip joint. In the course of the monograph Warrenproved the possibility of a type of dislocation that was denie…

1827

#4451.1

Successful amputation at the hip-joint.

This is “the first reported amputation at the hip joint found in the American medical literature” (Rutkow). See No. 4462.

1828 –1830

#1849

Medical flora; or, manual of the medical botany of the United States of North America. Containing a selection of above 100 figures and descriptions of medical plants, with their names, qualities, properties, history &c; and notes or remarks on nearly 500 equivalent substitutes. 2 vols.

Rafinesque was a great botanist, conchologist, archaeologist, and economist. Born in a suburb of Istanbul, he was also a world citizen and a prolific writer with 939 works to his credit. He died in extreme poverty in …

1828

#6710

American medical biography. 2 vols.

Thacher was the first American medical historian. The above biography is a valuable source of information on the early medical history of the United States. Reprinted, New York, Da Capo Press, 1967.

1829 –1837

#9574

Histoire général et iconographie des lepidoptérès et des chenilles de l’Amerique septentrionale.

Includes illustrations from drawings by John Abbot.

1829

#11760

Address to the community, on the necessity of legalizing the study of anatomy

The petition to the Massachusetts legislature to legalize "the procuring of subjects for anatomical dissections" (from George Hayward's printed notice on the verso of the title page). Nine members of the Massachusetts…

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…

1830 –1836

#9485

American conchology, or descriptions of the shells of North America illustrated from coloured figures from original drawings executed from nature. 7 parts. Parts 1–6: New Harmony, 1830–1834; Part 7: Philadelphia, 1836.

The printer or publisher of part 7 is not identified. Digital facsimile from the Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link.

1831

#10441

Circular of the Philadelphia Museum: Containing directions for the preparation and preservation of objects of natural history.

1831

#11759

Report of the Select Committee of the House of Representatives ... legalizing the study of anatomy.

This was the first law passed in the United States consigning the bodies of those who died in workhouses, hospitals, and similar institutions, the bodies of whom were "unclaimed," to medical schools for dissection. "S…

1831

#13405

A catalogue of the medical library of the Philadelphia Alms-House, prepared agreeably to a resolution of the Board of Managers.

First edition, 1824. Founded in 1732/33, this institution became known in the 19th century as "Old Blockley" after it moved to the Blockley Township in West Philadelphia. It was renamed Philadelphia General Hospital i…

1832 –1834

#7773

A manual of the ornithology of the United States and of Canada. Vol. 1: The land birds. Vol. 2: The water birds.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1832

#8630

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

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1832

#10812

Observations on the epidemic now prevailing in the city of New-York; called the Asiatic or spasmodic cholera; with advice to the planters of the South, for the medical treatment of their slaves.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1833

#10824

The dispensatory of the United States of America.

Digital facsimile of this, the first, and later editions from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1835

#3440.1

A case of introsussception in which an operation was successfully resorted to…in December, 1831.

First operation for intussusception in the United States, performed in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The patient was a negro slave; the operation was a complete success. Reported by Wilson’s pupil, W.W. Thompson.

1836 –1840

#326.1

North American herpetology; or, a description of the reptiles inhabiting the United States. 4 vols.

The greatest American book on herpetology, and one of the finest American color plate books on natural history. The fourth volume is particularly rare. Digital facsimile from Biodiversity Heritage Library 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.

1836

#11430

Discoveries in light and vision; with a short memoir containing discoveries in the mental faculties.

The first work on vision written by a woman and published in the United States. Griffith published the work anonymously. "Griffith’s work had its start in print in 1834, when she published two articles on vision in Da…

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…

1838

#10402

Botica general de los remedios esperimentados. Que á beneficio del público se reimprime por su original en Cadiz, en Sonoma, de la alta California: Por M. G. V.

The first medical book printed in California, a small 23-page pamphlet of folk or popular medicine. It was printed by Agustín V. Zamorano, the first printer in Alta California under Mexican rule before the region beca…

c. 1838

#11310

Anatomical cabinet, belonging to R. D. Mussey, M.D., Professor of Surgery in the Medical College of Ohio. Printed for the use of pupils.

This 20-page pamphlet described Mussey's personal collection of anatomical and pathological specimens. No place of printing or date of publication is indicated in the pamphlet; because of the reference to the Medical …

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…

1839

#13896

An account of the yellow fever which appeared in the city of Galveston, Republic of Texas, in the autumn of 1839, with cases and dissections,

In 1839 Smith treated the victims of a yellow fever epidemic in Galveston while writing reports about the treatment of the disease in the Galveston News. As a result of this experience, he wrote the first treatise on …

1840 –1856

#2163.1

Statistical report on the sickness and mortality in the Army of the United States. Vol. 1 (1819-1839), Vol. 2 (1839-1855), Vol. 3 (1855-1860).

UNITED STATES. War Dept. Surgeon General's Office

Vol.1 by Thomas Lawson; Vols 2 & 3 by Richard H. Coolidge. Digital facsimiles from the Internet Archive at this link.

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, …

1841 –1849

#7774

The North American sylva; or, A description of the forest trees of the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia, considered particularly with respect to their use in the arts, and their introduction into commerce; to which is added a description of the most useful of the European trees. Illustrated by 156 coloured engravings. Translated from the French of F. Andrew Michaux ... With three additional volumes, containing all the forest trees discovered in the Rocky Mountains, the Territory of Oregon, down to the shores of the Pacific and into the confines of California, as well as in various parts of the United States. Illustrated by 122 finely coloured plates. 6 vols.

The first study of all the trees of North America. Digital facsimile of all 6 vols. from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1841

#10072

Notes on the United States of North America during a phrenological visit in 1838-9-40. 3 vols.

Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1842

#10064

The history, diagnosis, and treatment of typhoid and of typhus fever: With an essay on the diagnosis of bilious remittent and of yellow fever.

Bartlett's book contains the first complete description of typhoid fever in English. In 1908 Osler wrote, "The chief interest of the work today lies in the remarkably accurate picture which is given of typhoid fever--…

1842 –1894

#12480

[New York Natural History and Geological Survey.] Natural history of New York. 30 vols.

The New York Natural History and Geological Survey was established by the state legislature in 1836 under the direction of James Ellsworth DeKay. By far the most ambitious scientific project undertaken in the United S…

1843

#10512

A flora of the state of New-York, comprising full descriptions of all the indigenous and naturalized plants hitherto discovered in the state; with remarks on their economical and medicinal properties. 2 vols.

For a long time this was the most comprehensive botany of any U.S. state. Digital facsimile from Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link.

1843

#13612

Memorial. To the Legislature of Massachusetts.

Dorothea Dix played an instrumental role in the founding or expansion of more than 30 hospitals for the treatment of the mentally ill in various U.S. states. This was probably the first of her many publications advoca…

1844

#10446

The theory and treatment of fevers. Revised and corrected by Ferdinando Stith.

The first medical treatise published in Missouri and the first medical treatise published west of the Mississippi River. "John Sappington provided medical services, was a financial lender, and imported and exported go…

1845

#6711.1

American medical biography…

Biographies of American physicians who died after publication of Thacher (No. 6710). Reprint, New York, Milford House, 1967.