North America

1855 CE

#5454.2

Yellow fever, considered in its historical, pathological, etiological, and therapeutical relations: including a sketch of the disease as it has occurred in Philadelphia from 1699 to 1854, with an examination of the connections between it and the fevers known under the same name in other parts of temperate, as well as in tropical, regions. 2 vols.

The most important 19th century American monograph on yellow fever. La Roche’s work sketched the disease in its appearances from 1699 to 1854 at Philadelphia, which saw some of the worst yellow fever epidemics, …

1856 CE

#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, …

1856 CE

#11301

Catalogue of the pathological museum of Prof. T. D. Mutter.

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

1856 CE

#14125

Glances and glimpses; or fifty years social, including twenty years professional life.

The autobiography of the first woman to practice medicine professionally in the United States. Digital facsimile from U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.

1856 CE

#7875

Illustrations of the birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America. Intended to contain descriptions and figures of North American birds not given by former American authors, and a general synopsis of North American ornithology. 1853 to 1855.

Originally issued in ten parts from 1853 to 1855. Cassin ran an engraving and lithographing firm in Philadelphia, which produced illustrations for government and scientific publications. He pursued ornithology as an a…

1856 CE

#10261

The camel: His organization habits and uses considered with reference to his introduction into the United States.

Marsh, who is remembered today for his contributions to ecology in his book, Man and nature, was appointed by president Zachary Taylor United States minister resident in the Ottoman Empire from 1849-1854. There he und…

1857 CE

#12886

A treatise on the use of adhesive gold foil.

In 1855, Robert Arthur discovered that by heating the gold foil impurities could be driven off, and the gold could be made to adhere to itself, a property known as cohesion. He passed each portion of foil through a fl…

1857 CE

#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…

1857 CE

#7470

Catalogue raisoneé of the medical library of the Pennsylvania Hospital.

Listing 10,500 items, the library of the Pennsylvania Hospital, founded in 1763, was undoubtedly the largest hospital library in the United States in 1857, and possibly the largest medical library in America. The firs…

1857 CE

#12091

Climatology of the United States, and of the temperate latitudes of the North American Continent. Being a full comparison of these with the climatology of the temperate latitudes of Europe and Asia. And especially in regard to agriculture, sanitary investigations, and engineering. With isothermal and rain charts for each season, the extreme months, and the year...

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1857 CE

#1327

Essays on the secretory and the excito-secretory system of nerves.

Campbell saw in the sympathetic a nervous system related to secretion and nutrition and having intimate connexion with the sensory nerves. He coined the ter “excito-secretory” to designate his theory; alth…

1857 CE

#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 CE

#12322

Report of an operation for removing a foreign body from beneath the heart. Published by the San Francisco County Medico Chirurgical Association as an additional paper to its Transactions for the year 1857.

Perhaps the earliest separate publication on a surgical operation issued in California.

1857 CE–1859 CE

#10514

Report on the United States and Mexican boundary survey: Made under the direction of the secretary of the Interior

Vol. 1, pt. by W. H. Emory. Vol. 1, pt. 2: Geological reports by C.C. Parry and Arthur Schott, notes by W. H. Emory; Paleontology and geology of the boundary by James Hall; Description of cretaceous and tertiary fossi…

1857 CE–1877 CE

#333

Contributions to the natural history of the United States. 5 vols.

Vols. 1-4 by Louis Agassiz were published from 1857-1862; Vol. 5, North American starfishes by Alexander Agassiz, appeared in 1877. Louis Agassiz was, for his time, the leading comparative anatomist in America and a v…

1858 CE

#11302

Catalogue of the surgical and pathological museum of Valentine Mott and of his son Alexander B. Mott.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1858 CE

#12152

Diphtheritis: A concise historical and critical essay on the late epidemic pseudo-membranous sore throat of California (1856-7), with a few remarks illustrating the diagnosis, pathology, and treatment of the disease.

For publishing this 46-page pamphlet Fourgeaud has been called "California's first medical historian." Digital facsimile from U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.

1858 CE

#5605

Silver sutures in surgery.

Sims, famous American gynecologist, introduced a silver wire suture, in order to avoid sepsis. See No. 6037.

1859 CE

#7935

A practical treatise on diseases, pathology, and treatment of diseases of the heart.

The first major American textbook on cardiology. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1859 CE

#5607

A system of surgery; pathological, diagnostic, therapeutic, and operative. 2 vols.

A profound intellect in 19th-century American surgery, Gross was both a surgical innovator and an outstanding author of numerous works that became classics. This massive treatise containing nearly 2500 pages was inten…

1859 CE

#12470

Mammals of North America: The descriptions of species based chiefly on the collections in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

An overview of North American mammals in three parts, assembled from two previously published sources. Parts 1 & 2 are continuously paginated. The work consists first of a reprint of the Reports upon the Mammals that …

1859 CE

#11304

Report on the medical topography and epidemics of California.

Logan provided an updated report with the same title in 1865. Digital facsimile of the 1865 report from U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.

1859 CE

#7720

The book of nature : containing information for young people who think of getting married: on the philosophy of procreation and sexual intercourse, showing how to prevent conception and to avoid child-bearing : also, rules for management during labor and child-birth.

Possibly the most enlightened, and detailed book on sex, reproduction, and contraception published during this period; illustrated in color. In addition to outlining the era's five most reliable methods of contracepti…

1860 CE

#14204

A medico-legal treatise on malpractice and medical evidence, comprising the elements of medical jurisprudence.

The first treatise on malpractice published in the United States and the first book to provide observations on the physician as an expert witness in malpractice cases. Digital facsimile from wellcomecollection.org at …

1860 CE

#4420

A practical treatise on fractures and dislocations.

The first comprehensive treatise in English on the treatment of fractures and dislocations. See No. 1742.

1860 CE

#3459.1

A practical treatise on the aetiology, pathology, and treatment of the congenital malformations of the rectum and anus.

The first systematic treatise on the subject, and a landmark in pediatric surgery. Includes an early account of colostomy and one of the earliest histories of that procedure. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at …

1860 CE

#10337

Ichthyology of South Carolina. Vol. 1 (All Published).

Digital facsimile from BnF Gallica at this link.

1860 CE

#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 …

1860 CE

#6649.9

Medicine as a profession for women.

1860 CE

#6043.1

On diseases peculiar to women, including displacements of the uterus.

Chapter 5 includes a lengthy description of the “Hodge pessary”. See No. 6185.

1860 CE

#2104

Researches upon the venom of the rattlesnake.

See No. 2106.

1860 CE

#9584

Surgical and practical observations on the diseases of the human foot, with instructions for their treatment. To which is added advice on the management of the hand.

A controversial, and not necessarily original work, notable as having been written by Abraham Lincoln's chiropodist (podiatrist), who gained the confidence of Lincoln and served as Lincoln's representative to the Jewi…

1861 CE

#7867

A manual of etherization: Containing directions for the employment of ether, chloroform, and other anaesthetic agents, by inhalation, in surgical operations, Intended for military and naval surgeons, and all who may be exposed to surgical operations, with Instructions for the preparation of ether and chloroform, and for testing them for Impurities. comprising, also, a brief history of the discovery of anaesthesia.

Jackson's most detailed exposition of anesthesia, including a summary of the early history of its discovery, written for American Civil War physicians and surgeons. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this …

1861 CE

#7811

A manual of military surgery: for the use of surgeons in the Confederate army: with an appendix of the rules and regulations of the medical department of the Confederate army.

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

1861 CE

#7815

A manual of military surgery: or, hints on the emergencies of field, camp and hospital practice.

Digital facsimile of the second edition (1862) from the Hathi Trust at this link. Notably in 1862 this small work written for Union surgeons was reprinted in Richmond, Virginia for the use of Confederate surgeons. The…

1861 CE

#7814

A treatise on gun-shot wounds: written for and dedicated to the surgeons of the Confederate States Army.

Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1861 CE

#421

An elementary treatise on human anatomy.

Leidy illustrated this book himself. He was professor of anatomy at Philadelphia and the leading American anatomist of his time.

1861 CE

#7735

Handbook for the military surgeon: Being a compendium of the duties of the medical officer in the field, the sanitary management of the camp, the preparation of food, etc.; with forms for the requisitions for supplies, returns, etc.; the diagnosis and treatment of camp dysentery; and all the important points in war surgery: Including gunshot wounds, amputation, wounds of the chest, abdomen, arteries and head, and the use of chloroform.

Digital facsimile of second edition (1861) from Google Books at this link.

1861 CE

#12813

Lives of eminent American physicians and surgeons of the nineteenth century. Edited by Samuel D. Gross.

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

1861 CE

#3267

The breath of life; or mal-respiration, and its effects upon the enjoyments and life of man.

Catlin, the famous American artist, was the first in America to call attention to the bad effects of mouth-breathing. He based his book on observations of native American practices, and illustrated his book with humor…

1862 CE

#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…

1862 CE

#11311

Health: Its friends and foes.

This work, which promoted vegetarianism and abstinence from tobacco along with other hygiene and overall health advice, was written as the author stated in his preface, "to meet the comprehension of the general reader…

1862 CE

#7817

Regulations for the Medical Department of the C. S. Army.

Electronic edition from unc.edu, Documenting the American South, at this link.

1862 CE

#7737

The hospital steward's manual; for the instruction of hospital stewards, wardmasters, and attendants, in their several duties; prepared in strict accordance with existing regulations and the customs of service in the armies of the United States of America, and rendered authoritative by order of the Surgeon-General.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Arhive at this link.

1863 CE

#9161

A brief plea for an ambulance system for the army of the United States, as drawn from the extra sufferings of the late Lieut. Bowditch and a wounded comrade.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1863 CE

#7739

A manual of instructions for enlisting and discharging soldiers. With special reference to the medical examination of recruits, and the detection of disqualifying and feigned diseases.

Digital facsimile of the 1864 printing from the Internet Archive at this link.

1863 CE

#7736

A manual of military surgery, prepared for the use of the Confederate States Army by order of the Surgeon-General [Samuel P. Moore].

". . . confined to those affections most intimately connected with gun-shot wounds and operations, as Shock, Tetanus, Hospital Gangrene, Pyaemia, &c." (from the preface). This is the only extensively illustrated Confe…

1863 CE

#12167

A report on hospital gangrene, eryipelas and pyaemia, as observed in the departments of the Ohio and the Cumberland, with cases appended. Published by permission of the Surgeon General U.S.A.

Middleton, surgeon in the U.S. Volunteers, recommended the placement of volatile bromine in all patient wards. He developed a method of applying bromine deep into muscular layers after wound debridement then injecting…

1863 CE

#7812

An epitome of practical surgery for field and hospital.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1863 CE

#11318

Catalogue of the New-York Museum of Anatomy No. 618 Broadway, New-York. Principals: Drs. Jordan & Beck No. 40 Bond Street. Open daily, for gentlemn only, from 10 A.M. till 10 P. M. Admission, 25 cents.

30-page catalogue of a commercial medical museum "for gentlemen only" and clearly operated as an advertisement for Jordan and Beck's medical practice. A great deal of the displayed material was intended to be titillat…