- 89
Holmes, Oliver Wendell
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description
- paper
"The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever. Read before the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, by Oliver W. Holmes, M.D., and published by request of the Society." In The New England Quarterly Journal of Medicine and Surgery, volume 1 (1843), pp. 503-530. Boston: W. D. Clapp, Jr., 1843
8vo (8 3/8 x 5 1/8 in.; 213 x 130 mm). Engraved portrait of George B. Doane, M.D. Twentieth-century red morocco, gold-stamped title on upper cover and on spine, edges gilt, Minot's pencil notes on front free endpaper, photocopy of presentation leaf laid in, in a red half-morocco drop-box; rebacked, corners rubbed, joints stained.
8vo (8 3/8 x 5 1/8 in.; 213 x 130 mm). Engraved portrait of George B. Doane, M.D. Twentieth-century red morocco, gold-stamped title on upper cover and on spine, edges gilt, Minot's pencil notes on front free endpaper, photocopy of presentation leaf laid in, in a red half-morocco drop-box; rebacked, corners rubbed, joints stained.
Provenance
George Minot — Sotheby's New York, 11 December 2009, lot 161 (undesignated consignor)
Literature
Grolier / Norman 72b; PMM 316a
Condition
rebacked, corners rubbed, joints stained.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
First edition of one of the rarest American contributions to medicine. "No American publication in the nineteenth century saved more lives than this unassuming paper, founded solely on the evidence of observed cases" (Grolier). Bound and presented to George Minot (1885-1950).
"Holmes declared in 1843 that puerperal fever was contagious, that before attending women in childbed doctors who have been performing postmortem dissections or who have treated cases of puerperal fever should wash their hands in calcium chloride and change their clothes. This made no impact at all except to arouse the wrathful contempt of all orthodox obstetricians" (PMM).
This copy was presented to George Minot at a dinner given in his honor in 1928. He, with William P. Murphy, introduced the raw-liver diet as a treatment for pernicious anemia (caused by a deficiency of vitamin B12).