MEDICAL / SCIENCE Auto-Inoculation of Vegetable Parasites of the Skin and the Clinical Testimony for Their Identity or Non-Identity

Item Details

New York, G. P. Putnam, 1878, Wrappers

Good

Dermatology.  

19th-century medical pamphlet, Autoinoculation: Its Principles and Application to the Prevention and Treatment of Disease, stitched in self-wrappers as issued. 1878. An early example of microbial theory intersecting with practical treatment—a transitional document between humoral medicine and bacteriology. Some toning to edges, light wear including pinpricks to back cover and final leaves.  Perhaps testing a syringe, who knows.  Uncommon.

9 pp., offprint.  

Edward Wigglesworth (1840–1896)

Harvard-trained physician and one of the first American dermatologists, Edward Wigglesworth helped establish dermatology as a recognized medical specialty in the U.S. He taught at Harvard Medical School, published influential studies on skin diseases—particularly fungal and parasitic infections—and was a founding member of the American Dermatological Association. His work bridged clinical observation and emerging microbiological theory, shaping 19th-century understanding of dermatologic conditions.

Related topics: history of medicine, microbiology, public health, medical pamphlets, bacteriology, Victorian science, scientific progress, 19th-century medicine, epidemiology, disease prevention