North America
3,694 entries published in North America.
1830
#9150
Gunn’s domestic medicine, or poor man’s friend in the hours of affliction, pain, and sickness. This book points out, in plain language, free from doctor's terms the diseases of men, women, and children, and the latest and most approved means used in their cure, and is expressly written for the benefit of families in the western and southern states. It also contains descriptions of the medicinal roots and herbs of the western and southern country, and how they are to be used in the cure of diseases: arranged on a new and simple plan, by which the practice of medicine reduced to the principles of common sense.
Gunn intended his book to serve as a guide for frontier and rural families who lived far away from any sort of medical care so it contained instructions on how to treat a wide variety of illnesses. While the first edi…
1830 –1836
#9485
American conchology, or descriptions of the shells of North America illustrated from coloured figures from original drawings executed from nature. 7 parts. Parts 1–6: New Harmony, 1830–1834; Part 7: Philadelphia, 1836.
The printer or publisher of part 7 is not identified. Digital facsimile from the Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link.
1830
#12481
The Botanic physician: Being a compendium of the practice of physic, upon botanical principles, containing all the principal branches necessary to the study of medicine, as anatomy; physiology; surgery; causes, symptoms and cure of diseases; midwifery; materia medica; pharmacy, botany, &c. Together with a great variety of useful recipes.
“The first treatise to attempt a scientific synthesis of the botanic practice....The first significant attempt to synthesize and systematize the prevailing botanic practice and plant materia medica” (Berman & Flannery…
1830
#13720
Thoughts on the original unity of the human race.
The first important American presentation of the case for polygenesis in support of slavery. Caldwell presented the first important American critique of the monogenist theories of human ancestry promoted by Samuel Sta…
1831
#10441
Circular of the Philadelphia Museum: Containing directions for the preparation and preservation of objects of natural history.
1831
#11759
Report of the Select Committee of the House of Representatives ... legalizing the study of anatomy.
This was the first law passed in the United States consigning the bodies of those who died in workhouses, hospitals, and similar institutions, the bodies of whom were "unclaimed," to medical schools for dissection. "S…
1831
#13405
A catalogue of the medical library of the Philadelphia Alms-House, prepared agreeably to a resolution of the Board of Managers.
First edition, 1824. Founded in 1732/33, this institution became known in the 19th century as "Old Blockley" after it moved to the Blockley Township in West Philadelphia. It was renamed Philadelphia General Hospital i…
1832
#7036
Fruits of philosophy, or the private companion of young married people,
First edition published privately and anonymously. Second edition, with additions, Boston, 1833. Many times reprinted. Republished by Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant, 1891. Edited, with an introductory notice by No…
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 –1834
#7773
A manual of the ornithology of the United States and of Canada. Vol. 1: The land birds. Vol. 2: The water birds.
Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.
1832
#8630
Practical essays on medical education, and the medical profession, in the United States.
Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.
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…
1832
#10812
Observations on the epidemic now prevailing in the city of New-York; called the Asiatic or spasmodic cholera; with advice to the planters of the South, for the medical treatment of their slaves.
Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.
1833
#989
Experiments and observations on the gastric juice, and the physiology of digestion.
Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian half-breed who had sustained a gastric fistula, was treated and investigated by Beaumont. With his human medium, Beaumont as the first to study digestion and the movements of the stomach …
1833
#10824
The dispensatory of the United States of America.
Digital facsimile of this, the first, and later editions from the Hathi Trust at this link.
1833
#12866
Dentologia, a poem on the diseases of the teeth and their proper remedies. With notes, practical, historical, illustrative, and explanatory, by Eleazar Parmly.
Brown founded the first US dental school, the first US national dental society, called The American Association of Dental Surgeons, and the first US dental journal, entitled the American Journal and Library of Dental …
1834
#3222
Illustrations of pulmonary consumption.
Morton published an important collection of illustrations delineating pulmonary tuberculosis which epitomized the knowledge of his time. It was also the first book on the subject published in the United States. Digita…
1834
#12395
An inquiry into the claims of Doctor William Harvey to the discovery of the circulation of the blood; with a more equitable retrospect of that event. To which is added an introductory lecture delivered on the third of November, 18929, in vindication of Hippocrates from sundry charges of ignorance preferred against him by the late professor Rush.
Perhaps the earliest American monograph on the history of circulation. Keynes characterized this volume as "an elaborate and very learned attempt to belittle Harvey's achievement" Keynes, Life of William Harvey, p. 42…
1834
#12900
The conchologist.
The first American manual of conchology. The author, John Warren, was an Englishman who sold shells and other collectibles in Boston as well as to other collectors in the United States. His book organized shells accor…
1835
#2212
A discourse on self-limited diseases.
Bigelow was attached to the Massachusetts General Hospital. The above “did more than any other work or essay in our own language to rescue the practice of medicine from the slavery of the drugging system which was par…
1835 –1838
#6864
The homoeopathist, or domestic physician. 2 vols.
The first book on domestic homeopathy published in the United States. The names of the medicines are not given, but are referred to by numbers. Digital facsimile from the National Library of Medicine at this link.
1835
#10108
On the influence of atmosphere and locality; change of air and climate; seasons; food; clothing; bathing; exercise; sleep; corporeal and intellectual pursuits, &c. &c. on human health; constituting elements of hygiéne.
Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.
1835
#12688
Memoir of James Jackson, Jr., M. D. with extracts from his letters to his father: and medical cases, collected by him.
Jackson published this biography of his son, James Jackson, Jr. after his son's premature death in 1834. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.
1835
#13744
Observations on the influence of religion upon the health and physical welfare of mankind.
Digital facsimile from U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.
1836 –1840
#326.1
North American herpetology; or, a description of the reptiles inhabiting the United States. 4 vols.
The greatest American book on herpetology, and one of the finest American color plate books on natural history. The fourth volume is particularly rare. Digital facsimile from Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link…
1836
#3679.7
Guide to sound teeth or a popular treatise on the teeth, illustrating the whole judicious management of these organs from infancy to old age: In which the author will attempt to show that the teeth of all persons which are constitutionally well formed, and who enjoy good health may, by proper management and care, be preserved to the end of life.
An expansion of Shearhashub Spooner's 32-page dissertation, An inaugural dissertation on the pysiology [sic] and diseases of the teeth. Submitted to the examination of John Augustus Smith, M.D, president, and the trus…
1836
#9524
The Indian vegetable family instructer: Containing the names and descriptions of all the most useful herbs and plants that grow in this country, with their medicinal qualities annexed; also, a treatise on many of the lingering diseases to which mankind are subject, ... with a large list of recipes, which have been carefully selected from Indian prescriptions ... Designed for the use of families in the United States.
1836
#11430
Discoveries in light and vision; with a short memoir containing discoveries in the mental faculties.
The first work on vision written by a woman and published in the United States. Griffith published the work anonymously. "Griffith’s work had its start in print in 1834, when she published two articles on vision in Da…
1837
#2611.1
Surgical observations on tumours, with cases and operations.
The first North American book on tumors, with 16 hand-colored plates by David Claypoole Johnston (1799-1865).
1837
#3441.1
A treatise on the malformations, injuries and diseases of the rectum and anus. Text and atlas.
The first American treatise on colon–rectal surgery.
1837
#6865
Wirkungen des Schlangengiftes, zum aerztichen Gebrauche vergleichend zusammengestellt. Mit einer Einleigung über das Studium der homöopathischen Arzneimittellehr.
An early American homeopathic title on The Effects of Snake Poison Comparatively Arranged for Therapeutic Use. Hering assumed an analogy between snake venom and bacterial toxins. He drew his work from provings and tes…
1837
#10107
The medical student; or, aids to the study of medicine. Including a glossary of the terms of the science, and of the mode of prescribing,--bibliographical notices of medical works; the regulations of different medical colleges of the union, &c. &c.
A remarkable survey of medical education in the U.S. at the time, with a thorough analysis of the different medical schools and the courses they offered, and an extensively annotated bibliography of 195 recommended me…
1837
#10411
The family nurse; or companion of the frugal housewife. Revised by a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
Child was was an abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalist, and opponent of American expansionism. Her journals, both fiction and domestic manuals, reached wide audie…
1837
#13101
An examination of phrenology; in two lectures.
This may be the earliest work incorporating anatomical images that was written in opposition to phrenology. Sewall, a physician from New England, was a founding member of the medical department at Columbian College (n…
1838
#1739
A treatise on the medical jurisprudence of insanity.
The first authoritative and comprehensive treatise in English on forensic psychiatry. Ray became the most influential American writer on forensic psychiatry in the 19th century. He put the above work through five edit…
1838
#10402
Botica general de los remedios esperimentados. Que á beneficio del público se reimprime por su original en Cadiz, en Sonoma, de la alta California: Por M. G. V.
The first medical book printed in California, a small 23-page pamphlet of folk or popular medicine. It was printed by Agustín V. Zamorano, the first printer in Alta California under Mexican rule before the region beca…
c. 1838
#11310
Anatomical cabinet, belonging to R. D. Mussey, M.D., Professor of Surgery in the Medical College of Ohio. Printed for the use of pupils.
This 20-page pamphlet described Mussey's personal collection of anatomical and pathological specimens. No place of printing or date of publication is indicated in the pamphlet; because of the reference to the Medical …
1838
#11431
Barn-Yard rhymes; showing what opinions the turkey, the cock, the goose, and the duck, enterain of allopathia, homopathia, electro-galvanism and the animalcule doctrines.
A critique of medical practice and procedures in 80 pages of rhymed couplets voiced by farmyard animals. Mary Griffith, who published these satirical poems anonymously, dedicated the work to the Philadelphia physician…
1839
#2292
Elements of pathological anatomy. 2 vols.
In his day Gross was the most famous surgeon in the U.S.A. He was for a time Professor of General Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathological Anatomy at Cincinnati Medical College and while there published his Elements, the…
1839
#201
Crania Americana; or, A comparative view of the skulls of various aboriginal nations of North and South America. To which is prefixed an essay on the varieties of the human species.
In his day Morton was the most eminent craniologist in the United States. He had a collection of nearly 1,000 skulls. In this work, which described both modern and fossil skulls, Morton described fractures and anthrop…
1839
#2585
Lectures on the blood, and on the changes which it undergoes during disease: Delivered at the College of France in 1837-8.
Pp. 244-49: Magendie showed that secondary or subsequent injections of egg/albumin caused death in rabbits who had tolerated an initial injection. This was the first experiment in anaphylaxis, though Jenner in 1798 ha…
1839
#3680
The dental art, a practical treatise on dental surgery.
One of the most popular books on the subject ever published. It underwent 13 editions during the next 74 years! Harris was instrumental in founding the first dental college in the world, the Baltimore College of Denta…
1839
#5471
On dengue; its history, pathology, and treatment.
1839
#9305
Lectures on the science of human life. 2 vols.
The Reverend Sylvester Graham was an American Presbyterian minister and dietary reformer known for his emphasis on vegetarianism, the temperance movement, and eating whole-grain bread. "Around 1829, Graham invented th…
1839
#12011
Anatomical, pathological and therapeutic researches on the yellow fever of Gibraltar of 1828, by P. Ch. A. Louis. From observations taken by himself and M. Trousseau as memebers of the French Commission at Gibraltar. Translated from the manuscript by G. C. Shattuck.
The Translator's Introduction begins as follows: "The work now presented to the public has heretofore existed in manuscript only. Circumstances have delayed its publication in France, and some years may yet elapse bef…
1839 –1850
#12931
American Library of Dental Science. 10 vols.
This was a series of American editions, and first English translations, of then-standard or classic works, most of which remain classics in dental literature. The volumes were listed by Weinberger (1938) as follows: V…
1839
#13896
An account of the yellow fever which appeared in the city of Galveston, Republic of Texas, in the autumn of 1839, with cases and dissections,
In 1839 Smith treated the victims of a yellow fever epidemic in Galveston while writing reports about the treatment of the disease in the Galveston News. As a result of this experience, he wrote the first treatise on …
1840 –1856
#2163.1
Statistical report on the sickness and mortality in the Army of the United States. Vol. 1 (1819-1839), Vol. 2 (1839-1855), Vol. 3 (1855-1860).
UNITED STATES. War Dept. Surgeon General's Office
Vol.1 by Thomas Lawson; Vols 2 & 3 by Richard H. Coolidge. Digital facsimiles from the Internet Archive at this link.
1840
#8828
Catalogue of skulls of man, and the inferior animals, in the collection of Samuel George Morton.
Numbers 901-929 in Morton's catalogue are "Thirty Skulls of genuine unmixed NEGROES born in Africa. This interesting series series was collected by Don José Rodriguez Cisnerso, M. D. of Havana, in the island of Cuba, …
1840 –1844
#13112
The Birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories. 7 vols.
Audubon created 65 new images for the octavo edition, supplementing the original 435 in the double-elephant folio edition of 1827-1838. The resulting series of 500 chromolithographed plates constituted the most extens…