Annals of medical history . nts, dreams, guiding Provi-dences or the divining rod may be estab-lished. Among severalpersonal incidents fothis kind, the findingof a certain littlebook is one of themost striking. In thesummer of 1901 I wasin London, and, forreasons not necessaryto state, was avoid-ing old book down Shafts-bury Avenue oneday, however, I with-stood the temptationsof the antiquariesthat then lined thatstreet until I cameeven with a window ofa small shop that hadlying on its one shelfabout a dozen booksequally inconspicuousand without legendsor announcements of any kin
Annals of medical history . nts, dreams, guiding Provi-dences or the divining rod may be estab-lished. Among severalpersonal incidents fothis kind, the findingof a certain littlebook is one of themost striking. In thesummer of 1901 I wasin London, and, forreasons not necessaryto state, was avoid-ing old book down Shafts-bury Avenue oneday, however, I with-stood the temptationsof the antiquariesthat then lined thatstreet until I cameeven with a window ofa small shop that hadlying on its one shelfabout a dozen booksequally inconspicuousand without legendsor announcements of any kind. I walkedthrough the open door and picked up avolume at random. As soon as I opened it,I saw the book was by one of the numerousromantic figures in medicine. It was a book Ihad long known of but had never seen. Ilooked over the others, and found nothingof interest; the first I picked was the onlyone on a medical topic. The price was solow that my scruples vanished, and I walkeddown Piccadilly with the same sort of feeling. Madame de Sevicne(1626-I696) a Henry Huntington might have when hehas acquired a Gutenberg Bible or a Rapeof Lucrece. The book is the Pyretologia of RobertTalbor, printed in 1672, the full title being:A Rational Account, 0/ the/ Cause &Cure of/ Agues,/ withtheir Signs/ Diagno-stick (l Some specifickMedicines/ prescribedfor the Cure of all/sorts of Agues; Withan account of a suc-cessful Method of theAuthors/ for the Cureof the most Tediousand Dangerous Likewise someObservations of/ Curesperformed by theaforesaid is added/A short Account ofthe Cause and Cureof/ Fearers,^and theGriping of the Guts,agreeable to Naturesrules and Method/of AuthorRto Talbor Non multa, London, Printed for R. Robinson,and/ are to be Sold at his Shop nearGreys Inne Gate in Holburn, 1672. In order to realize its bibliographic valueone must know that the library of theSurgeon-Generals Office contains no
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Keywords: ., bookauthorp, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectmedicine
