first edition
1892 · Philadelphia:
by OSLER, Sir William (1849-1919).
Philadelphia:: W. B. Saunders, 1892., 1892. Series: The Climatologist. April, 1892. Offprint. 22.5 cm. 5, [1] pp. Self-printed wrappers. Near fine. 'In early years Osler was mainly interested in the pathology and diagnosis of tuberculosis. While Koch's discovery of the bacillus raised hope that a specific treatment would soon emerge, the much-trumpeted tuberculin had been an embarrassment. Like many others, Osler was impressed by the late-1880s research of Edward L. Trudeau, a consumptive New York doctor who had moved to the Adirondacks for the pure air that was thought to be helpful. Working with tubercular rabbits, Trudeau seemed to have proved that animals kept in damp, dark quarters fared much more poorly than those allowed to roam around in fresh air.' This served to promote Trudeau and the sanitarium movement in America. 'Osler sent patients who could afford it, including Hopkins staff and his own relatives, to Trudeau's establishment. The apparent success of a natural therapeutic approach over tuberculin and many other failed drugs fitted nicely with his own evolving views. As early as 1891 he realized there was a social dimension to the TB therapy problem in that many of the urban poor were as confined in their cramped and poorly ventilated housing as some of Trudeau's rabbits. In the first edition of his text, Osler called on cities to build sanitaria, within easy access by railway, for poor consumptives.' - Michael Bliss, William Osler: A Life in Medicine, p. 281-2. Golden & Roland 608. [HM] (Inventory #: M13515)