Facets

1630

#259

Persio tradotto.

The first book to contain illustrations of natural objects as seen through the microscope— specifically an engraving of the exterior surface of bees. The work includes the Latin text of the Satyrae VI of Aulus Persius…

1651

#467.1

The history of generation…

Highmore’s account of the development of the chick is the first embryological study based on microscopical examination, predating Malpighi (No. 468) by more than twenty years. This is also the first book in English to…

1653

#260

Historiarum et observationum medico-physicarum centuria prima (-secunda).

The first work to apply microscopy to medicine. Borel described 200 observations and applications; he probably saw the blood corpuscles and Sarcoptes scabiei.

1655

#261

De vero telescopii inventore.

Borel collected evidence to show that Zacharias (sometimes called Zacharias Janssen) invented the compound microscope about 1590. Zacharias was a spectacle-maker of Middelburg, Holland.

1665

#262

Micrographia, or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses; with observations and inquiries thereupon.

Hooke, at one time research assistant to Robert Boyle, was one of the greatest inventive geniuses of all time. This was the first book devoted entirely to microscopical observations, and also the first book to pair it…

1678

#13233

Microscopium, or some new discoveries made with and concerning microscopes. Lectures and Collections made by Robert Hooke, Secretary of the Royal Society, pages 81-112.

On his title page Hooke listed the contents of this section as follows: "Mr. Leeuwenhoeck's two letters concerning some late microscopical discoveries. "The author's discourse and description of microscopes, improved …

1685 –1686

#263

Oculus artificialis teledioptricus sive telescopium. 3 pts.

Includes the first complete history of early microscopes.

1686 –1718

#265

Ontledingen en ontdekkingen.... 6 vols.

Leeuwenhoek, one of the first and also one of the greatest of the microbiologists, communicated many of his discoveries to the Royal Society in London. This set is a collection in Dutch of many contributions that van …

1691

#264

Observationes circa viventia, quae in rebus non viventibus reperiuntur. Cum micrographia curiosa siue Rerum minutissimarum obseruationibus, quæ ope microscopij recognitæ ad viuum exprimuntur. His accesserunt aliquot animalium testaceorum icones non antea in lucem editae. Omnia curiosorum naturæ exploratorum vtilitati & iucunditati expressa & oblata.

Illustrates several early microscopes, including the famous microscopes of the Bolognese Joseph Campani. Contradicting Redi, Bonanni tried to show that spontaneous generation was possible in animals "without blood and…

1694

#10455

Raguaglio historico del contaggio occorso nella provincia di Bari negli anni 1690, 1691 e 1692.

Arrieta published two very early disease maps in this work showing locations of plague in the province of Bari, Italy, and his employment of troops to isolate those areas. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive a…

1717

#5232

De noxiis paludum effluviis, eorumque remediis.

Lancisi suggested that since malaria disappears after drainage it was due to some sort of poison emanating from marshes and possibly transmitted by mosquitoes. He planned a drainage scheme for marshy regions. His work…

1762

#305

Traité anatomique de la chénille, qui ronge le bois de saule. Augmenté d'une explication abrégée des planches, et d'une description de l'instrument et des outils dont l'auteur s'est servi pour anatomiser à la loupe et au microscope, & pour déterminer la forcer de ses verres, suivant les règles de l'optique, & méchaniquement.

Lyonet’s monograph on the goat moth caterpillar remains a famous example of anatomical examination. It is also a thorough treatise on the microscope and lenses that Lyonet used. Digital facsimile from Biodiversity Her…

1777

#145.53

Specimen zoologiae geographicae, quadrupedem domicilia et migrationes sistens dedit, tabulamque mundi zoographicam adjunxit.

The first textbook of zoogeography, containing the first world map showing the distribution of mammals. French translation of part 1 only by Jakob Mauvillon: Zoologie géographique. Premier article, L'homme (Cassel: Im…

1778 –1793

#8222

Geographische Geschichte des Menschen und der allgemein verbreiteten vierfüßigen Thiere: nebst einer hieher gehörigen Zoologischen Weltcharte. 3 vols.

Digital facsimile from the Bayerische StaatsBibliothek at this link.

1797

#7687

An inquiry into the cause of the prevalence of the yellow fever in New-York.

Includes four early plot maps; Seaman was one of the first to create maps that attempted to show the spread of contagious disease.

1807

#265.1

Kort bericht der trapsgewijze verbeteringen aan achromatische verrekijkers.

Van Deijl introduced an achromatic objective.

1819

#10456

A statement of the occurrences during a malignant yellow fever in the city of New-York, in the summer and autumnal months of 1819; and of the check given to its progress, by the measures adopted by the Board of Health. With a list of cases and names of sick persons, and a map of their places of residence within the infected and proscribed limits: With a view of ascertaining, by comparative arguments, whether the distemper was engendered by domestic causes, or communicated by human contagion from foreign ports.

Pascalis mapped this yellow fever outbreak using a method similar to Valentine Seaman, but with a more extensive and detailed list of cases. A condensation of his 60-page pamphlet with a reissue of his map appeared in…

1820

#266

De' microscopj catadiottrici memoria.

Amici constructed the first microscope with achromatic lenses and suggested water-immersion for improved achromatic lenses of the compound microscope. The 1820 publication of his paper indicates that it was "Approvata…

1822

#7695

Grundtræk til en almindelig Plantegeographie.

The first atlas of the geography of plants, including distribution maps for the eastern and western hemisphere. Schouw translated the work into German and had the translation published the following year: Grundzüge ei…

1827

#266.1

On Mr. Tulley’s thick aplanatic object-glasses, for diverging rays; with an account of a few microscopic test objects.

Goring was an Edinburgh medical practitioner. He commissioned Tulley and others to make various modifications to the microscope. The above paper reports the first effective achromatic object-glass.

1827

#10507

Charte über die geographische Ausbreitung der Krankheiten.

The first world map of the distribution of human disease. For Schnurrer's work in epidemiology and his map, which was published separately from his books, see Brömer, "The first global map of the distribution of human…

1827

#13262

Notice of some microscopic observations of the blood and animal tissues.

Hodgkin and Lister determined that blood cells are bioconcave discs and accurately measured their diameter as "1/5000 of an inch." Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1830

#267

On some properties in achromatic object-glasses applicable to the improvement of the microscope.

The principle of the modern microscope was worked out by Joseph Jackson Lister, father of Lord Joseph Lister. His important improvements in achromatic lenses make him one of the most prominent figures in the history o…

1830

#13909

Recherches expérimentales sur le sang human considérè à l'état sain.

Denis discovered the presence of cholesterol (“cholestérine”) in the blood. This he announced on p. 110 of his Recherches expérimentales.

1832

#7688

A treatise on epidemic cholera; including an historical account of its origin and progress, to the present period. Compiled from the most authentic sources.

This compendium contains one of the first world charts of a disease, tracing the spread of cholera from two main sources, India (1817) and China (1820), across Asia and the Middle East via trade routes, to France and …

1832

#10457

Relation historique et médicale du choléra-morbus de Pologne, comprenant l'apparition de la maladie, sa march, ses progrès, ses symptômes, son mode de traitement et les moyens préservatifs. Avec une carte.

In his study of the spread of cholera in Poland in 1831 Brière de Boismont used a map to show the progression of the disease from a central point through the country along a red line through principal towns and the da…

1832

#10462

The substance of the official medical reports upon the epidemic, called cholera: Which prevailed among the poor at Dantzick, between the end of May and the first part of September, 1831, as transmitted to their lordships; being an analysis of the said epidemic disease in that city--founded upon actual observation and accurate inquiry: With important and well-authenticated facts relative to the same disease, as it prevailed among the poor in other parts of the North of Europe.

Hamett privately published this report after it was rejected for publication by the British government. He included hospital admission tables in his book and produced perhaps the first map based on hospital reports of…

1832

#10463

A treatise on the epidemic cholera, as it has prevailed in India; together with the reports of the medical officers, made to the medical boards of the presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, for the purpose of ascertaining a successful mode of treating that destructive disease; And a critical examination of all the works that have hitherto appeared on the subject.

Corbyn mapped the history of cholera in India within British regimental stations. He included the date of each reported outbreak in a table of British regimental locations to describe the temporal progression of the d…

1832

#10526

A geographical and statistical account of the epidemic cholera: From its commencement in India to its entrance into the United States: Comprehended in a series of maps and tables, exhibiting the names of places visited by the pestilence, the time of its commencement, the number of cases, and deaths, and duration, at each place: Compiled from a great variety of printed and manuscript documents.

Tanner, a prolific cartographer, wished to provide a geographic account of the spread of the worldwide cholera epidemic of 1817. Statistics concerning the epidemic, he complained, were "given in such a loose and uncon…

1834

#7480

Rapport sur la marche et les effets du choléra-morbus dans Paris et les communes rurales du département de la Seine par la commission nommée, avec l'approbation de M. le ministre du commerce et des travaux publics, par MM. les préfets de la Seine et de police; année 1832.

This work contained one of the earliest applications of spatial analysis in epidemiology—an early thematic map by geographer and cartographer Charles Picquet, in which the 48 districts of Paris were represented by gra…

1837

#8803

Notes on the medical topography of Calcutta.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1838 –1857

#11117

Anatomie microscopique. Tome premier: Histologie. Atlas de cinquante-deux planches. Tome second: Histogénèse. Atlas de quarante planches. 2 vols.

This work was issued in parts over nearly 20 years. Parts concerned specific subjects and were sold separately. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link, and at this link.

1842

#1608

Report…from the Poor Law Commissioners on an inquiry into the sanitary conditions of the labouring population of Great Britain.

Chadwick devoted his life to social reform. He was secretary to the Poor Law Commission when he made the above report to Parliament. In it he included a careful analysis of causes of death in 1838 and 1839 and gave a …

1843

#7696

Six ethnographic maps illustrative of "The natural history of man".

An atlas of six large hand-colored folding maps originally issued to accompany Prichard's popular work, The natural history of man, first issued in 1843. The maps were revised and re-issued in 1851 and 1861.

1844 –1845

#267.1

Cours de microscopie. 1 vol. and atlas.

Donne's and Foucault's work was the first biomedical textbook to be illustrated with images made from photomicrographs, in this case daguerreotypes of blood cells. Among its noteworthy images are the first microphotog…

1845 –1849

#7694

Dr. Heinrich Berghaus’ Physikalischer Atlas: oder, Sammlung von Karten, auf denen die hauptsächlichsten Erscheinungen der anorganischen und organischen Natur nach ihrer geographischen Verbreitung und Vertheilung bildlich dargestellt sind. 2 vols.

Berghaus created a new genre of thematic atlases. He issued this work gradually in eighteen installments from 1837 to1848. The first edition of the complete atlas consists of ninety maps in two vols., dated 1845 and 1…

1848 –1854

#270

Het mikroskoop, deszelfs gebruik, Geschiedenis en tegewoordige Toestand. Eeen handbooek voor natuur - en geneeskundigen. 4 vols.

Exhaustive history of the microscope. The work was translated into German, appearing (second edition) in 1866; this last was reprinted Amsterdam, 3 vols., 1970. Digital facsimile of the first edition in Dutch from wel…

1849

#7689

The history of the cholera in Exeter in 1832.

Includes “Map of Exeter in 1832 Shewing the Localities Where the Deaths Caused by Pestilential Cholera Occurred in the Years 1832, 1833 & 1834.” This map used red horizontal bars to illustrate outbreaks in 1832, red d…

1849

#7693

Physical Atlas. A series of maps & illustrations of the geographical distribution of natural phenomena. Embracing I. Geology. II Hydrography. III Meterology. IV. Natural History.

30 double-page maps, 15 of which are after the physical atlas of Berghaus. Contributors included Edward Forbes, George Waterhouse, Abbe Boué, etc. Various concern disease.

1855

#9982

On the mode of communication of the cholera. Second edition, much enlarged.

The second edition of Snow's book on cholera, with 162pp. compared to 31pp. in the first edition, incorporated the results of five more years of research, and contained so much additional material that it was essentia…

1863

#14165

Der Gebrauch des Spektroskopes zu physiologischen und ärztlichen Zwecken.

The first monograph on medical spectroscopy. After Hoppe-Seyler published the first paper on the application of spectroscopy to blood chemistry in 1862 (No. 870), Valentin decided to publish his own contributions to t…

1865

#1511.1

Method att objectivera effecten av ljusintryck pa retina.

Discovery of the electroretinogram, the beginning of the use of electrophysiological methods for studying visual systems.

1870

#268

Beschreibung eines Mikrotoms.

His was, more than any other person, responsible for the introduction of the microtome, although Ranvier and other French people had earlier employed microtomes of simpler types.

1872

#13212

Autumnal catarrh (Hay fever) with three maps.

Wyman conducted experiments that convinced him that ragweed was a cause of hay fever. He then collected data from correspondents and published the first pollen maps of the U.S. so that sufferers could plan vacations i…

1874

#7479

Statistical atlas of the United States based on the results of the ninth census 1870, with contributions from many eminent men of science and several departments of the government.

This oversized compendium of maps, graphs, statistical tables, and essays was the first comprehensive thematic atlas produced by any nation. It was hailed both at home and abroad for its innovative use of graphic elem…

1875

#10451

The geographical distribution of heart disease and dropsy, cancer in females & phthisis in females, in England and Wales. Illustrated by six small and three large coloured maps.

Haviland used the national mortality statistics for England and Wales to develop an elaborate geographical explanation based on map analysis for the cause of heart, cancer, and tuberculosis deaths. He found that femal…

1876

#145.6

The geographical distribution of animals. 2 vols.

"In 1872, at the urging of many of his friends, including Darwin, Philip Sclater, and Alfred Newton, Wallace began research for a general review of the geographic distribution of animals. He was unable to make much pr…

1878

#268.1

On a large-angled immersion objective, without adjustment collar; with some observations on “numerical aperture”.

Stephenson suggested the oil immersion lens system to Abbe, who developed it.

1881

#1413

Untersuchungen über die Localisation der Funktionen in der Grosshirnrinde des Menschen.

Exner identified the superficial tangential fibers of the molecular layer of the cerebral cortex, known eponymically as “Exner’s plexus”. Exner’s book of 1881 on cortical localization contained maps based on the clini…

1883

#8176

Upon the electrical experiments to determine the location of the bullet in the body of the late President Garfield; and upon a successful form of induction balance for the painless detection of metallic masses in the human body.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.