A Treatise on the Venereal Disease
Philadelphia: Printed and Sold By Parry Hall 1791. [12], 369 pages plus 6 plates (5 folding) and accompanying explanatory text plate, plus 9 pages of index. 8vo. Bound in modern full calf with decorative borders in blind on the covers, and raised panels on the spine and simple red leather labels. Very minor wear to the leather. Plates are all trimmed, most tight to the plate lines (but no loss of image). Endpapers replaced, early previous owner name at top of title page. Later pencilled notes throughout in an educated hand, with occasional sentences in the margins that appear to add to the narrative. Uniformly browned throughout but not brittle - possibly washed at some point. A great reading copy in a recent binding that will hold up to plenty of reading and still looks nice on the shelf. Price temporarily reduced by Consignor. Very Good. Hardcover. [22042]
"In Hunter's day the venereal diseases were thought to be due to a single pathogen. In order to test this theory Hunter inoculated matter from a conorrhoeal patient who, unknown to Hunter, also had syphilis. The inoculee developed syphilis, supporting Hunter's view of a single pathogen. Backed by the weight of Hunter's authority, this experiment held back for many years the development of knowledge regarding gonorrhoae and syphilis. The hard ("Hunterian") chanre eponymizes, Hunter ; his book also contains the first suggestion of lymphogranuloma venereum as a separate disease." (GM 5/5197 referring to the London 1786 edition). The book went through many editions past Hunter's lifetime with continuing updates, at least through the time of the American civil war. This is an early American edition, predated by at least one edition in 1787.
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