1889.]. Octagonal composite pendant made from brass, copper, lead and nickel-plated iron, 49 × 40 × 1.5mm, inscribed and with central image of Hippocrates; sold seperately and without any accompanying explanatory leaflets, and no longer retaining the original box; pendant somewhat soiled and burnished, with wear to central image of Hippocrates on one side. A scarce medical curiosity - a French galvanic brooch or pendant from the turn of the century, made from brass, copper, lead and nickel-plated iron, patented and made by E. Osselin. Different metals are known to generate small electric currents when brought together, and this was thought to confer healing properties when held against the skin and such pendants were widely marketed as electrotherapeutic devices.
The bust of Hippocrates, the father of medicine, forms the central panel of the pendant, around which the four different metals are set, and which are inscribed the words ‘Medaille Electro Medicale - purifie le sang – assainit la bile – guerit les douleurs et les reumatismes. La sante pour tout’.
The present example sadly no longer retains its original case or accompanying leaflet, though a previous example held revealed that the pendant was exhibited and available to purchase for 4 francs at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889, and could cure a myriad of complaints, including migraine, lumbago, haemorrhoids, diabetes, cholera, sciatica, croup, liver disease, etc.
The pendant is discussed by Robert Lehmann & Raf van Laere in their article ‘Twice fooled: a metallotherapeutic and galvanotherapeutic medal analyzed’ in the Revue Belge de Numismatique et de Sigillographie in 2012 (http://www.numisbel.be/2012_M.pdf, ff. 303), who note that ‘the central part consists of an octagonal disc ... made from an unusual combination in which an iron disc was heavily coated with tin before being plated with nickel. To improve the cohesion between the tin and the outer nickel layer, the tin was first coppered, a practice still in use nowadays. The border consists of a brass (80% copper, 20% zinc) grid with inserts of copper and zinc. The pieces of zinc are protected by a thick varnish’. The article further notes that E. Osselin at the time was accused by a rival firm, Ferdinand de Boyères, of having copied his electrotherapeutic device, and so had been forced to change the type of metal used. Little further appears to be known about Osselin, other than that he produced various electro-magnetic devices, including bracelets, necklaces, belts, armbands, galvanic chains, and electro-magnetic bandages, at ‘3, rue de Maine, Asnières’ in Paris during the 1880s. According to the leaftlet he was the only authorized manufacturer of therapeutic jewelery for doctors V. Burq and Moricourt.
A similar example can be seen in the National Science Museum (http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display?id=5067).

1885. Small 12mo, pp. 32; with small portrait of Dr Williams on title page with a number of small woodcut illustrations; together with printed envelope, folding order form, and stamped addressed envelope to a customer; slightly foxed; The medicated pads were apparently discovered in Brazil by Professor V. G Williams of New York, the formulas for which passed into the hands of his son Percy G Williams in 1879. ‘Our pads are not only a cushion of medicine, each one made expressly to act upon the different organs, over which they are worn, but they contain in addition to this a simple but effective miniature electro-galvanic battery. This is acted upon by the drugs in the pad, and thus for the first time in the history of medicine a constant mild flow of electricity is constantly kept up without friction or the application of acids’ (p. 6). Illustrated are appliances for the chest, the liver and stomach, the kidney’s, a ladies pad or uterine appliance, and a ‘suspensory appliance ... a positive and unfailing cure for seminal weakness’.

1879. 8vo, pp [4] pamphlet printed in red, black and gilt, 255 x 168mm, together with accompanying, seemingly hand-written though possibly facsimile, two-sided letter on headed paper 285 x 216mm, and with original stamped envelope 90 x 155mm; pamphlet and letter with evidence of previous horizontal and vertical folds, envelope a little soiled and stained. A most striking pamphlet, partially printed in gilt, promoting one of a number of electro-galvanic appliances offered by this noted firm. First patented in the US in 1853 by the Viennese Doctor, Isaac Lewis Pulvermacher, (though previously demonstrated in both London and Edinburgh), the "electric belt" was a battery-powered flexible series of linked cells worn wrapped around parts of the body as a form of the new medical treatment called "electrotherapy". It became particularly popular with quack practitioners, though received considerable criticism from the medical establishment, though some respectable physicians (whose names were sometimes used in Company ads without permission) had to admit that the Belt had some scientific usefulness. The Chain battery here advertised was yet another device, which could be used in conjunction with the belt and a suspensory appliance for the specific treatment of ‘impotence’. The various bands, belts and battery sets were advertised for cases of nervous debility, lost energy, spermatorrhoea, female complaints, epilepsy, paralysis, kidney disease and ‘other chronic disorders’.
We believe the accompanying letter to be hand-written - though there is a hint of a facsimile about it and it does feel rather like a form letter - supported by the stamped note on the rear that ‘Owing to the vast extent of our business and the necessity for a routine of departments, all Letters of Advice are dictated by our Examining Electrician to his associates, and then referred to our mailing department, there to be addressed and dispatched by our Corresponding Secretary’. See Atwater 2899-2902.

1900. Collection of some 200 tightly rolled documents of varying sizes, many on draft linen, and also including blue-prints, and drawings on translucent draft paper, a number partially coloured; all exhibiting signs of use and wear, with some considerable dust-soiling to some edges, the majority creased and many with quite considerable wear to extremities - with some loss in a few places; nevertheless a striking and unusual collection. A fascinating collection, comprising technical drawings, plans and blueprints issued by a number of leading engineering firms, and relating to both recent constructions, and presumably to the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of various buildings and lock systems along the Manchester Ship Canal. Spanning a period between 1914 and 1949, the collection focuses in particular upon Eastham Locks and Gates, Ellesmere Port, Stanlow Oil Docks, Barton Lock and Salford Docks, and provides an unusual and visual insight into the workings of this iconic feat of Victorian engineering.
The moves which led to the formation of the Manchester Ship Canal Company and to the construction of the canal itself began to take practical shape in 1882, at a time when the commercial supremacy of Manchester appeared to be declining. It was thought that this decline was due in large part to the heavy cost of transit within the region, which led to the agitation for the building of a ship canal. The proposal encountered opposition from the railways and from powerful corporate interests in Liverpool and it was 1887 before work could begin. The task occupied six years and might never have been completed had not the city fathers come to the financial rescue of the promoters, lending them £3 millions in 1891 and a further £2 millions in 1893. The canal was opened to traffic in 1894, and was the largest river navigation canal in the world, and enabled the newly created Port of Manchester to become Britain’s third busiest port despite the city being 40 miles inland, and was to play a vital role in the economic success of the city during the twentieth century.
Of particular interest, the collection includes a number of drawings and plans done by the noted engineering firm of Henry Simon Ltd of Cheadle Heath. The entrepreneur and philanthropist Henry Simon was born in Germany, before moving to Manchester in 1860. A noted engineer, his fame rests in having pioneered an innovative flour milling process, and by 1892 his company had built 400 mills in various countries. Though he died in 1899 by that time the firm was the largest flour mill engineering business in the world. The various plans found here refer to the firms construction in 1915 of the famous large Grain Elevator Number 2, and which upon completion was capable of storing 40,000 tons of grain. Bordered on one side by an offshoot of the Manchester Ship Canal - the Bridgewater Canal, and an extensive railway system on the other, the huge 168ft high grain elevator became a notable landmark. Thus we have plans for ‘Sweep Ups and Dust Exhaust B & C on elevators’, ‘Arrangement of Dust Exhaust, Motor Ventilating plants and basement, South End (and North End)’, to name but a couple. Related to the grain elevator, another plan shows the ‘Arrangement of Fan Drives for Exhaust & Weigher Hoppers’ at Ellesmere Port (by Henry Simon, 1928) - the weigher being a method of automatically controlling the filling and emptying of produce in silos and hoppers.
Focused almost entirely upon mechanical engineering, the collection highlights the internal design and workings of buildings at various key locations along the route. The Stanlow Oil Dock was opened in 1922, and various plans included in the collection relate to this - including one showing the ‘Arrangement of Pipes and Shafts at South Shaft’, with another highlighting a proposed sub-station there. Plans for the fenders for the lower gates, and giving details of the gate platforms and brackets are found referring to Barton Lock. Another illustrates a coal converter at Ellesmere Port.
Whilst inevitable that local engineering firms would have a close connection with the canal, the collection also reveals that firms from further afield provided vital technical assistance, including Hackbridge Electric Construction Co. Ltd of Walton-on-Thames, and Clarke, Chapman & Co. Ltd, Electrical Engineers from Gateshead-on-Tyne. Other firms of note include the British Oil Storage Company, the Vaughan Crane Co. Ltd (providing plans and blueprints for a 3/4 Ton Spur Geared Trans Block), and Sir W. H. Bailey & Co., Ltd. A number also have the stamp of the Engineering Office. Whether this refers to a Ship Canal Head Office we are unsure, and indeed we are uncertain as to where this collection originally hails from, other than that we believed it was sold at Tennants Auctioneers several years ago, and subsequently purchased in Haydock. Though obviously including plans for as yet constructed buildings, our assumption is that these technical drawings have been amassed to assist with the general maintenance and upkeep of the many industrialized and mechanized buildings that played such an integral role in the life and success of the canal. A striking and highly visual insight into the building, improvement and maintenance of this iconic feat of Victorian engineering.

1760. Later seemingly 19th century music box, the mechanism housed within hollowed out 8vo, with the winding key located at the rear of the book; An unusual example of a faux book, ‘buch atrappe’, ‘faux livre’, or ‘blook’ (the term coined by Mindell Dubansky for her own collection of ‘things that look like a book, but aren’t’), in this case housing what we believe to be a 19th century music box mechanism, added to a hollowed out and customised volume of the 18th century French medical ‘Journal de Medecine, Chirurgie, Pharmacie’, from January 1760. The winding key is located in at the rear of the volume, and once turned, the music plays when the front cover is lifted. The tune is frustratingly familiar, and as yet unidentified, though possibly a Strauss Waltz.
The volume has an interesting provenance, having the bookplate on the front paste-down of Joseph Claude Anselme Recamier (1774-1852), the noted French gynaecologist and a pioneer in the study of cancer metastasis. A unique example.

1702. 12mo, pp. [iv] including first blank, 168, [8]; with engraved plan signed L. Loisel pasted to the margin of the final leaf as a throwout; plate shaved at top and bottom; some light marginal browning and soiling; The very rare first edition of Félibien’s description of the new church for the Invalides by Jules Hardouin Mansart, replacing Bruant’s original church. Félibien’s illustrated folio Description de l'eglise royale des invalides was published when the church was consecrated in 1706. At the same time this 12mo was re-issued with a second part ‘Contenant les peinture, & divers autres ornements’ and the engravings from the folio. Berlin 2486 and 2487 citing the 1706 editions only; OCLC records only copies at the Conservatoire National des arts et métiers and the BN (bound with the second part, 1706). The 1706 re-issue is found at the BN, CNAM, Göttingen, V&A, Getty, Duke, Princeton and Columbia.

1901. Two volumes, large 8vo; pp. [iv], 736, [ii], 737-1050; [ii], 1051-1653, [3] blank, [ii] part title-page ‘Modes of Treatment’, [1657]-1760, [ii],1761-1776, [ii], 1777-1840, [ii], 1841-2074; with folding male mannikin with flaps together with accompanying folding explanatory leaf at front of Vol I, and folding female mannikin with flaps together with explanatory leaf in Vol II, folding leaf at rear of Vol I containing 7 illustrations with flaps on the anatomy of the nose, ear, eye, larynx, lungs, heart, and head, with folding frontispiece ’Distinguished exponents and protectors of the Natural Healing Method’, double-page chromolithograph showing Bilz’ Sanatorium embellised in gilt, and sepia lithograph portrait of the author, and with a further 30 chromolithograph plates (one double-page), and copious text illustrations; double-page frontispiece somewhat browned with long vertical tape repair, and chipping to outer edge, portrait and first few leaves of Vol II also with edgewear and chipping; printed on rather poor paper quality thus browned and somewhat foxed and soiled throughout, with some marginal browning to the plates; with later signature dated 1905 on half-titles; A later English edition, testimony to its enduring popularity, of Bilz’ ‘Das neue Naturheilverfahren’ (first English 1898), and which was eventually translated into 12 languages. A striking piece of late Victorian bookmaking, and illustrative of the rise in popular medical publishing, the work is copiously illustrated including a number of ‘flap’ illustrations, together with chromolithographs depicting everything from poisonous mushrooms and medicinal herbs to gymnastics and swimming. Though in the present copy repaired, the set also includes the striking double-page chromolithograph depiction of Bilz’ Sanatorium, seemingly not always present, together with an interesting folding plate highlighting a number of leading exponents of the ‘Natural Method of Healing’. The second volume includes quite detailed discussions of the facilities available at the Sanatorium. A note has been added at the bottom of the depiction of the Sanatorium stating ‘High award at the Jubilee Exhibition, Vienna, 1898’.

1900. Two volumes, large 8vo; pp. [ii], iv, 48, [ii] explanatory leaf, 49-672, [ii] explanatory leaf, 673-1040; Vol II. pp. [ii], 1041-1584, [ii] explanatory leaf, 1585-1683, [i] blank, [ii] sectional title on thicker paper ‘Formes d’application de la médication naturelle’, [1685]-1712, [ii] explanatory leaf, 1713-1744, [ii] explanatory leaf, 1745-1808, [ii] explanatory leaf, 1809-1872, [ii] explanatory leaf, 1873-1904, [ii] explanatory leaf, 1905-2080; Vol I with multi-layered folding male mannikin with flaps together with accompanying folding explanatory leaf of text at beginning, a folding leaf containing 7 ‘flap’ anatomical illustrations of the nose, ear, eye, larynx, lungs, heart at the rear, a folding lithograph plate showing portraits of eminent holistic physicians, a double-page frontispiece chromolithograph of the Sanatorium embellished in gilt, and sepia lithograph frontispiece portrait of Bilz, Vol II with a multi-layered folding female mannikin with accompanying folding explanatory leaf at front and single chromolithograph plate with flaps depicting a foetus in the womb at rear, with 30 chromolithograph plates throughout the text, together with copious text diagrams and engravings; paper somewhat browned throughout due to quality, with a few small marginal nicks, sectional title-page in Vol II worn and chipped along fore-edge; A variant French edition, testimony to its enduring popularity, of Bilz’ ‘Das neue Naturheilverfahren’ (first German ca. 1888, first English 1898), and which was eventually translated into 12 languages. This French edition has a variant double-page frontispiece depiction of the Sanatorium to that found in the English edition, as well as containing variant plates, although the text is largely the same. Another French issue under the variant title of ‘La Santé à la portée de tous’ was published at a similar time - again with variant plates. A testimony, perhaps, to the entrepreneurial Bilz’ taking full advantage of the advances in popular publishing, and the demand for comprehensive domestic medical guides.

1891. 8vo, pp.xii, 321, [1] blank, [2] advertisements for works by Alphonse Daudet; with 42 engraved vignettes; paper a little browned and spotted throughout due to quality, rear endpaper partially detached, both somewhat foxed and browend; First London edition, (first published as L’Hypnotisme’ in the previous year, with a Philadelphia imprint also in 1891) of this vigorous defence of hypnotism, by the physician-hypnotist and one of the pioneers of electrotherapy and radiography, Victor Foveau de Courmelles (1862-1943), and who only two years previously had been Vice-President of the International Magnetic Congress for the Study and Application of Human Magnestism to the Relief and Care of the Sick, held between 21-26 October 1889 in Paris. Courmelles asserts that a more widespread adoption of artificially induced sleep would be great medical benefit, and indeed in his preface cites the case of a young woman, who during an ‘acute attack of nervous suffocation’ was subjected to the trauma of a tracheotomy: ‘had he simply induced artificial sleep, her breathing would at once have resumed its normal condition’ (p. viii). Amongst the striking illustrations we are shown 'Mesmer's Tub', 'Puysegur's Tree' and numerous hypnotic subjects in various states including one full page image of woman with rigid catalepsy between two chairs.

[November 1793]. Small folio, 320 x 210mm, ff. [4]; written in neat calligraphy in brown ink; paper a little dust-soiled with some light spotting and browning, with evidence of previous horizontal folds; loosely ‘stitched’ together with two blue silk ties at head and tail, with evidence of previous stab marks, spine of outer cover split but holding; A beautifully handwritten ‘Arrêté’ issued by the Health Council of Military Hospitals, in the early days of the ‘Reign of Terror’, and bearing the signatures of a number of leading French surgeons and physicians of the day, notably Antoine Parmentier (1737-1813), Antoine Dubois (1756-1837), Guillaume Daignan (1732-1812) and Nicolas Herteloup (1750-1812).
The table, divided into seventeen categories, stipulates a number of infirmities and conditions which would prevent admission to military service, and provides a glimpse at the mindset of the tough and uncompromising new civil regime . "Le service militaire exige le libre exercice de tous les organes. Le soldat qui en a quelqu'un de vicié peine, la peine produit la douleur, la douleur les maladies, les maladies affligent l'humanité, affaiblissent les Armées, ruinent le Trésor public. Une administration civique doit obvier à ces inconvénients." A fascinating document of great historical interest.

1879. Small folio, pp. 12, [2]; with two chromolithograph plates, comprising seven figures; text and plates a little foxed and spotted; First edition of this uncommon and attractively illustrated treatise on deformations of the pelvis by the obstetrician and gynaecologist Heinrich Fritsch, at the time of writing Extraordinary Professor at Halle University (1844-1915). Some of his early training had been spent at the obstetrical clinic of Robert Michel von Olshausen (1835-1915), to whom he dedicates the present work. He subsequently became a full professor and director of the obstetrical clinic in Breslau in 1883, later taking up a position in Bonn. Fritsch was an excellent physician and operator whose work concerns all fields of obstetrics and gynaecology. As a highly regarded clinical teacher he is credited with having educated a generation of acclaimed obstetricians and gynaecologists, including Hermann Johannes Pfannenstiel (1862-1909), Erwin Kehrer (born 1874), and Walter Stoeckel (1871-1961). In 1894 he provided an early description of "Asherman's syndrome", and his name is associated with "Fritsch's manipulation", an obstetric compression technique used for controlling bleeding. In 1877, with Hermann Fehling (1847-1925), he founded the gynaecological journal Zentralblatt für Gynäkologie.
In the present treatise, Fritsch makes frequent reference to the work of Carl Litzmann, who also wrote a number of works on the female pelvis and its anomalies, notably Die formen des beckens in 1861. OCLC locates one copy at Chicago only.

1860.]. Large decorative card box with hinged lid, 345 x 445 x 65mm, interior compartmentalised, with large central box with gilt paper surround housing a wooden roulette wheel, decorated in red and blue and numbered 1 to 24, surrounded by 24 smaller rectangular boxes, each lined with cotton wool, and each containing a small ornate ‘prize’ objects of made from various substances, including wood, glass, ceramic, metal, bone, mother-of-pearl, and lace, and with original silk pouch retaining the metal roulette ball, and 24 red presumably bone tokens, each numbered (number 1 seemingly a later replacement of metal); roulette wheel a little faded, all of the ‘prizes’ delicate and fragile, with a number showing signs of wear, with some occasional loss and two broken, but all present; A wonderful and no doubt extremely rare survivor, especially complete as here, of this family parlour game of ‘Tombola’, dating from the mid to late 19th century.
Originating in Italy in the 18th century, the game of ‘Tombola’ was traditionally a board game similar to bingo. Here the board has been replaced by a central roulette wheel, numbered 1 to 24. Presumably a family member would be elected as ‘croupier’, with players either drawing from the bag, or being dealt, one or more of the red numbered tokens, depending upon the number of players. The ball would then be thrown onto the spinning wheel, with the owner of the corresponding number receiving a prize. Whether this was first-come-first serve, or whether the prizes were themselves numbered, is not clear. The twenty-four small objects, however, have all been intricately made and are most charming, even though some are showing understandable signs of wear. Prizes include two wooden boxed sets of dominoes, a small worked metal box, a pocket magnifying glass inlaid with mother-of-pearl (though missing to edging pieces), an embroidered doily, a ceramic candle holder in the shape of a leaf, a pair of cufflinks, a pair of turquoise earrings (again showing signs of wear), two sets of bone skittles, a faux tortoise-shell box containing a ring, two painted ceramic boxes, two small glass candleholders with fake candles (both of which have broken off), a miniature mother-of-pearl penknife, and a delightful trinket in the shape of a metal goat pulling a mother-of-pearl shell carriage. A delightful ‘box of delights’, transporting us back to halcyon days of family games evening - and perfect for the new lock down world.
We have so far been unable to find any similar surviving examples, and can find no further information about either the lithographer Marie, nor the artist, M. A. Mourgue. The publisher Coqueret was active from about 1846 and produced a variety of games, including a number of lotto games, until about 1875, when he was succeeded by Charles Watilliaux.

1706. 8vo, pp. [32] 120, with engraved frontispiece on A1 verso by Vandergucht; fore-edges of a couple of leaves of prelims dustsoiled (seemingly before binding), otherwise crisp and bright; front free end leaf removed; An attractive bright, crisp copy of this the sixth edition edition of Garth’s famous and popular satirical poem, ‘with several descriptions and episodes never before printed’ and 24 pages longer than the previous edition (first three editions 1699, fourth 1700, fifth 1703; the work reached an 11th edition in 1768).
The frontispiece (often lacking) shows the Cutlerian Theatre of the College of Physicians, designed by Robert Hooke, and eloquently described in one of the verses in the poem:
‘There stands a Dome, Majestick to the Sight,
And sumtuous Arches bear its oval Height;
A golden Globe plac'd high with artful Skill,
Seems, to the distant Sight, a gilded Pill’.
Garth's poem satirises his colleagues in the Royal College of Physicians and the apothecaries who opposed the Physicians’ giving free consultations and medicines to the neighbouring sick poor. Munk explains: ‘Garth, who from his admission into the College had warmly approved of the new charity, detesting the action of the apothecaries and of some of his own brethren in this affair, resolved to expose them in his admirable satire “The Dispensary,” a poem full of spirit and vivacity, and on which his reputation in the present day chiefly rests. The sketches of some of his contemporary physicians are severe and biting – they are interesting to us ... as giving us an insight we could not otherwise obtain into their history and manners.’ (Munk, The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London I, p. 500.)
Provenance: The present copy bears both the engraved book-plate of Thomas Weld (1750–1810) of Lulworth Castle, Dorset, together with the inscription of Margaret Weld on the title-page, dated 1712. A prominent Catholic family, it was Thomas Weld who gave Stonyhurst to French Jesuits fleeing the Revolution, where they founded the school of the same name. Wellcome III, p. 91; Foxon G22; ESTC t34565.

(1801). 12mo, pp. [viii] including first blank, 192, [2] errata and blank; errata leaf laid down with repair at lower gutter (no loss of text), title-page a little browned with minor abrasion causing loss of a couple of letters, text lightly browned; First edition of this thoughtful essay on tombs and the influence of funeral institutions over manners and morals, providing a comparative study of funeral rites and ceremonies, including discussion of China, Canada, Tahiti and Guyana.
Girard’s work was one of a number compositions entered for a competition set by the L’Institut National. As with so many areas of public life in the aftermath of the Revolution, there was a growing widespread concern over a lack of respect for the dead and their burial, the preceding decade having borne witness to a prevalence of what were considered by many to be indecent and at times almost inhumane modes of interment. Girard therefore presents his ideas and plan for ‘d’Institutions funèbres simple et moral, et j'y mêlai toutes les idées consolantes qui peuvent adoucir la dernière et douloureuse séparation’ (p. 4), in which he looks at such issues as ‘proclamation des décès, l’inscription sur les tables funéraires et l’eloge des morts’. OCLC locates copies at UCLA, Princeton, Harvard, Louisiana State and NYPL.

1971. 8vo, pp. 256; First edition of this important and early work by the noted primatologist and conservationist, Jane Goodall. ‘…of all living creatures today only man, with his superior brain, superior intellect, overshadows the chimpanzee. Only man casts his shadow of doom over the freedom of the chimpanzee in the forests with his guns and his spreading settlements and cultivation.’ (p.3) A unique blend of formal science and informal psychology, Goodall writes with great personality and humour, as she explores the sociological and philosophical relationship between man and chimps. Both an extremely important piece of scientific research and a fascinating tale, Goodall relates her time in Gombe from 1960 to 1970. Filled with stunning photography, the book provides significant scientific observation, including the revolutionary discovery of chimpanzee tool use.
In 1977, Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports projects ranging from agroforestry to micro-lending to primate research. Roots and Shoots, a program the institute started in 1991, focuses on environmental education, encouraging young people around the world to make sustainable choices. Today, as she has for decades, Goodall travels some 300 days a year, speaking as an advocate for the environment and as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Her message, though one of warning that humanity and the planet on which we depend are at a crossroads, is also flecked with hope that all is not lost.

1933. 8vo, pp. xx, 332; with 22 inserted plates, of which 20 are half-tone or x-ray illustrations, with two further diagrammatic plates (one in red and black), further copious half-tone illustrations and diagrams set within the text, totalling 118 illustrations; some occasional light soiling and marking, half-title and verso of final leaf a little browned; gutters slightly exposed in a couple of places; six pages of loosely inserted pencil notes with illustrations in a contemporary hand; evidence of previous book-label on front free endpaper with signs of abrasion; Fifth, enlarged edition, of a seemingly less well-known but important and popular contribution to the corpus of literature devoted to medical gymnastics and massage, and first published in 1917. As Goodall-Copestake notes in her preface ‘this book was first compiled during the Great War. The writer’s object then was to place a simple text-book in the hands of those qualifying themselves in the science and art of massage, in order that they might take their part in the relief of suffering at that time. Since then the progress of physical medicine in all its branches has gone forward every year, and it is necessary for the student to quality himself and herself more fully, the requirements of examiners being much greater than they were formerly’ (p. vii).
The work contains extensive chapters on the history of massage; tips for beginners wishing to be a ‘medical gymnast’ (i.e. massage therapist); details of massage manipulations and their physiological effects on the skin, muscles, circulation, lymph flow, nervous system, and metabolism; practical massage on all parts of the body from head to toe and heart to colon; and the use of massage for the re-education of muscles. The chapters on kinesiology, gymnastics, movement and exercises are generally based up on Pehr Henrik Ling’s famous Swedish system of gymnastics. Also included is a chapter on curvatures of the spine which are matched with dedicated exercise programmes which, with their emphasis on breathing and movement, are reminiscent of therapies used today, as well as the contemporaneous developments in schools of exercise such as yoga and Pilates.
The second part deals with ‘surgical conditions treated by massage and movements’ such as inflammation and wound healing, fractures, dislocations and deformities of the musculo-skeletal structures. The third part is dedicated to ‘medical conditions’ and their treatment with massage, from alimentary problems, diabetes and obesity, respiratory, neurological and circulatory diseases, to headaches, insomnia, and pregnancy. The book is lavishly illustrated with photographs, X-rays, half-tone illustrations and diagrams. Many of the pathological conditions shown in the images, such as rickets and scoliosis, are interesting from both a historical and medical point of view.
The first edition of The Theory and Practice of Massage and Medical Gymnastics was well reviewed in the Glasgow Medical Journal (No 89, 1918, p. 310) and the British Medical Journal (No 1, 1918, p. 430): ‘a sound and comprehensive handbook’, which ‘– as far as it is possible to do so in a book – also introduces the nurse and massage-pupil to the rudimentary knowledge of those conditions in the treatment of which she may be required to help the physician or surgeon’. A series of further editions followed (1919, 1920, 1926, and this in 1933), each with more illustrations and additions: the second edition added a chapter on the ‘after-treatment of war injuries’ (1919, p. vii), while the preface to this fifth edition notes that it has been ‘enlarged by the addition of notes on Kinesiology and also a fuller description of Remedial Exercises’ as taught by Dr Johan Arvedson, with additional illustrations for these exercises as well as depiction's’ of deformities. It is interesting to note that the chapter on rheumatic conditions was also rewritten for this edition, as Goodall-Copestake is known for one of the earliest detailed accounts of physical therapy in the treatment of rheumatism. A sixth edition was published in 1942, when the focus of attention for practitioners was once again those wounded in battle, and it contains a new chapter on war injuries including a section on the treatment of amputation stumps.
Beatrice Mary Goodall-Copestake (1877 - ?) was the other of ‘Massage as a Career for Women’ (1919) and was named an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in 1949.

1945-1950. Collection of 40 ALS, of various sizes though predominantly 8vo, penned in a single neat hand in ink, sometimes on headed stationary, ranging in length, a few minor nicks, with some occasional light foxing and browning, final letter from 1950 the most foxed, together with accompanying addressed and stamped envelopes and one Christmas card; now housed within a custom-made ‘keepsake’ box. A fascinating, and often poignant, archive of letters penned over a five year period, between Josef ‘Joe’ Biel, and his friend Miss Betty Stanford, during which time Biel underwent a number of reconstructive surgical procedures under Sir Archibald McIndoe at the famous Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead. In addition to giving occasional details of the procedures involved, the letters provide an invaluable and highly personal insight and account into the physical and mental effects this often long and painful restorative and recuperative process had upon Biel - no doubt a reflection of the experiences of the many others who similarly underwent, and ultimately benefited from, the pioneering work undertaken by McIndoe, all of whom became members of ‘The Guinea Pig Club’. Established in 1941, membership of this social club and mutual support network for British and allied aircrew injured during World War II, was made up of patients of McIndoe, all of whom underwent experimental reconstructive plastic surgery, including facial reconstruction, often after receiving burns injuries in aircraft. What began with 39 patients grew to 649 by the end of the war and included Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders as well as Americans, French, Czechs and Poles. His pioneering plastic surgery techniques restored function and gave hope to these young man with life-changing disfigurements, and with his encouragement, rather than hiding away with their injuries, most went on to lead full and active lives. The club remained active after the end of the war, and its annual reunion meetings continued until 2007.
Sergeant, later Warrant Officer Josef Biel sustained serious burns to his face and hands after his Spitfire was shot down by Anti Aircraft [flak] fire over France, some 12 km South of Lille July 8th 1941. He was immediately captured, and was treated in a German Military Hospital before being held for three and a half years as a P.O.W. In May 1945 he was repatriated to England and received treatment at The Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead. In a letter to his mother, recorded in a photocopied document enclosed with the letters, he wrote “My face, my hands and my left leg were quite burned so I am still in hospital”.
Written over the course of five years, between 1945 and 1950, Biel’s letters to Miss Stanford include several references to the nine operations undergone at the Queen Victoria, and provide an insight into his mental state during this difficult time, often reflecting his bitterness at the Post war treatment of Polish pilots and his sense of loneliness and isolation during his slow return to health. The collection comprises ten letters written in 1945, eleven in 1946, nine in 1947, five in 1948, four in 1949 and finally a brief note written in 1950. Eleven were written at the Queen Victoria Hospital, twelve from RAF Dunholme Lodge, Lincolnshire, with the rest penned whilst staying in Plumstead, near Woolwich and finally Birmingham. As revealed in the letters, during his recuperation period, Biel studied at the Woolwich Polytechnic for 8 hours a day, often studying late into the night, though his progress was continually interrupted by time lost to operations, and as a result of the injuries suffered. The crash had damaged both his eyesight and his hands, and this five year period was also hard financially, Biel living on the breadline for much of it, and without any social life. Sometimes a little broken, his English is good on the whole, with only the occasional grammatical error. A true tale of endurance, his story ended happily however. By 1949 after years of struggle, he met and married another ‘Betty’, who had nursed him at East Grinstead, the couple moving to Birmingham where Biel was able to take up a job working in a metallurgical laboratory on microanalysis of aluminium and its alloys.
A more detailed list of transcriptions is available, but included below is a selection offering an insight into his experiences.
[5.8.45] “Last week I have been in East Grinstead and I had an interview with my doctor and on the 3rd Sept I am going to his hospital for my beauty treatment. I did like this hospital as there is no military discipline and there are quite a few good looking nurses (London girls). Every week in the re-convalescence part of the hospital the patients have got dancing and the nurses join them. All the drinks are free!”
[21.8.45] “I am trying to eliminate this attitude of disappointment and bitterness because I know it is tragic when one allows bitterness and frustration dominate one’s thoughts. As I told you I realise that there is no justice. This is one of the most painful lessons idealists learn sooner or later. That there is no justice is a fact about which I no longer despair”
[10.9.45] “I am in the hospital already. I am well and in good spirits, waiting for my beauty treatment. I expected to have an operation last week but it has been postponed indefinitely as they are reorganising hospital … it is very nice here and everybody is very kind to me. The people in the town are very hospitable so I go out practically every night” (East Grinstead became known as ‘The Town That Doesn’t Stare’)
[23.8.46 Q.V. Hospital] “The head surgeon Mr McIndoe is at present operating in Sweden so I was examined this morning by S/L Moor and told that I shall be operated upon on Tuesday. I don’t know yet who will be operating on me but most probably S/L Moor or a Polish doctor. They are both very good. Polish doctor who is at present sick saw me last night, we had a long talk, and he examined me and said that he will fix me properly. They are going to lift up my both eyelids at the same time so I shall be blind for about four or five days”
[8.9.46 Q.V. Hospital] “My left eye is still covered and my right eye doesn’t feel too comfortable yet but I can read a bit. Anyhow I am very pleased to tell you that my operation was successful and at last I am able to close my eyes properly; my nose has healed nicely and the left hand is doing quite well. I had comparatively a very easy time after operation though I was blind for nine days … A Polish surgeon operated on me; he took two pieces of skin from behind my ears and grafted them under the eyes; the grafted skin has taken nicely and it looks quite nice already. The eyelids have perfect shape again. They opened my right nostril and done a L-plastic on my left hand. I have to say that I am very pleased with his work on me. He says that I shall be a smart looking boy when he finishes with me. I am going to stay here perhaps two more weeks and then I am going on leave. After my leave I shall come back here to get a nice pair of eyebrows”
[3.11.46] “I had to leave hospital a bit earlier than I ought to and my right eyebrow is not doing too well; it got a bit septic; the left one looks very nice. I do hope that the right one will improve soon”
[9.1.47] “I am very sorry for not having written to you in so long but my eyes were very bad and for about two weeks I hardly could see. I have to tell you (to avoid a lecture on eyesight) that my eyes went bad as a result of my accident in the Air Force, and the eye-specialist told me that this may happen from time to time…At last I am on unpaid leave from the Air Force but I have to sign to the Resettlement Corps”
[31.1.47] “I am rather fed up as everything is against me just in time when ought to work hard; even my watch has stopped. In spite of that I am not going to surrender but will try to make up for the lost time and work harder as soon as I am old myself again ... I have signed to the Resettlement Corps, and I am on unpaid leave for educational purposes with Home Office Consent ... I have signed for two years, and what is the next step I don’t really want to think about it. There is one think [sic] I am sure of, that I am not going to Poland as I would have to go there for ten years to prison; signing to the Resettlement Corps I confirmed that sentence given by Warsaw Communists. Life is bitter and I am more often hesitating if it is worth living; Let’s hope the future is brighter than the presence”
[7.8.47 Q.V. Hospital] “I have been in hospital since 28th July and that I have had my operation on July 30th. This time they grafted one piece of my ear on the right side of my nose but I nearly lost the graft as the wound was bleeding for four days. Using all sorts of tricks my doctor won the battle for the nose which now looks quite nice”
[24.1.48] “I left hospital on the Jan 10th and had a week rest in Lincoln. I spent 8 weeks in hospital and had one operation which was successful though after that operation I was feeling very badly; I never felt worse and I thought I was going to leave this earthly sphere of misery to start another life. Anyway I survived and I have to go to East Grinstead once more in summertime. I spent Xmas in hospital and had quite nice time under the circumstances; plenty of food and drink and Sir Archibald McIndoe done all the carving for us with an expert hand; he also dined with us and after dinner he played the piano for us. Most of the time at Xmas I spent in a wheelchair but on New Years eve I went out as I wanted to get drunk”
[12.2.49 Q.V. Hospital] “As for me, I am still in hospital and last Thursday I had my last operation; this was definitely last one, and next week I shall be out of hospital for good so I won’t be able to see your friend here … I am going to my station to be invalided out and then I shall be looking to earn my living. I have a job in Birmingham to go to but I don’t think I can cope with it at present as my left hand is of not much use since I had a new graft put on it. I shall find a big improvement after two or three months. I was absolutely mad two weeks ago as they wanted to discharge me without giving me invaliding board; anyway I managed to persuade them but I am still anticipating trouble”
[12.9.49] “so your friend is a ‘friend of Guinea Pigs’; I seem to know her name (as I was in East Grinstead in 1945 for three weeks) but I don’t remember her as I didn’t recognise her at our dance … I enjoyed the Guinea Pig dance as well as the Annual Dinner in spite of the fact that I had a headache for three days after these celebrations as I drunk more than ever … I have another surprise for you yet; I am about to be engaged to a girl who was nursing me in East Grinstead. Her name is Betty as well and she is now a sister in East Grinstead; so I can’t say anymore that nobody loves me”
With thanks to John Langdon and John Underwood for the transcriptions. Also included with the archive is a collection of photocopies of papers relating to Biel and his crash, his imprisonment at Stalag 8, and his entry in the Guinea Pig Club roll of honour held by the East Grinstead Museum. For more information see Mayhew, Emily, The Guinea Pig Club: Archibald McIndoe and the RAF in World War II.

1840. 8vo, pp. ii, 343, [i], errata; with 32 lithographs on 31 leaves, two folding; faint dampstain affecting the upper margins of each of the plates, though predominantly unobtrusive and never touching image; text clean and crisp; with library stamps on recto and verso of title-page, and library label on front paste down; First edition of this attractively illustrated travel account of the journey made by Dr. Joseph Guislain in 1838 through Italy and Switzerland, effectively a medical fact-finding tour. Written as a series of letters addressed to his fellow members of the Society of Medicine of Gand, the work is divided into two parts, the first parts dealing with ‘la constitution morbide de l'Italie’, ‘les conditions morales de l'Italie’ as well as ‘les travaux médicaux en Italie’. In the second part, Guislain describes in more detail ‘les hôpitaux, établissements de charité et institutions scientifiques de l'Italie’ which he had visited in Turin, Genoua, Pisa, Florence, Sienna, Naples, Rome, Venice, Milano, Lausanne, Berne and Zurich. The work is attractively illustrated with a number of lithographs, which depict a number of hospital façades, plans, architectural details, instruments, and even methods of treatment, including a striking image of a mentally ill patient horizontally restrained and strapped to a mattress. Waller 3866; OCLC locates copies at Iowa, Chicago, UCSF, Harvard, NLM, Washington, and the College of Physicians.