An Account of the Effects of Swinging; Employed as a Remedy in the Pulmonary Consumption and Hectic Fever

London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1788. Leather bound. Very good +. Octavo size, 60 pp. "Tuberculosis, also known as consumption, is a disease caused by bacteria that usually attacks the lungs, and at the turn of the 20th century, the leading cause of death in the United States" (n.b., from the web site of the American Lung Association). It was this way for centuries; as far back as 460 BCE, when "Hippocrates identified phthisis [i.e., consumption] as the most widespread disease of the times, and noted that it was almost always fatal" (n.b., quote from the web site of Rutgers University).

Consumption (tuberculosis) was the cause of death of (truncated) so many: John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Emily Bronte...the list goes on and on.

It is no wonder, then, that various methods of treatment for this fatal disease were explored. in the middle ages in Europe, it was thought the "royal touch" (that of a King) would be the cure. Others stuck with the more wide-spread practice of fresh air (particularly sea air), dietary changes, and herbal remedies.

This work, published in 1788, promoted "swinging" as a cure - the action of swinging back and forth, often on a wooden board. The author describes many cases where he effected cures, or at least delays in the advancement of consumption, using this treatment. The author, James Carmichael Smyth (1742-1821) was a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Roayl College of Physicians, and one of the physicians to King George III.

A book which is rare in the trade; as of this writing we see no copies online nor in RBH, although there are about a dozen copies held by institutitons according to our search of OCLC.

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full red polished calf by Frederico d' Almeida, of Lisbon (whom some have deemed the best Portuguese binder of the time), with narrow gilt ruled borders on both boards and gilt lettering, decoration, and rules on the spine, top-edge stained red, marbled endpapers, red ribbon marker, please note that the English of the day used the long "s" (which to our eyes appear as an "f"), also note that there are about thirty blank leaves at the back of the book (whether intended for notes or some other purpose, we cannot say); octavo size (8 3/8" by 5 1/8"), pagination: [i-v] vi [vii-viii] [1] 2-53 [1, blank] [publisher's ad for a forthcoming book by James Carmichael Smyth, M.D., verso blank], followed by the blank section referred to above.

___CONDITION: Better than very good, the boards clean and the leather smooth and supple, gently bumped corners with minimal rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; some very light marks to the boards, the half-title appears to have had some paper restoration in the past, perhaps when the book was re-bound, and light toning to the margins of the text pages throughout.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help. (Inventory #: 25020105)