Title: The Origin and Growth of the Healing Art: A Popular History of Medicine
in All Ages and Countries
Author: Edward Berdoe
Publisher: Swan Sonnenschein & Co
City: New YorkYear: 1893 (First Edition)Binding Style: Hardcover
Pagination: 509Illustrated: Yes
Book Details + Condition: Original green pebbled cloth spine over matching green cloth boards,
gilt rules to upper cover, gilt rules and titling to spine, patterned
endpapers, index. Black and white frontis and illustrations. The first edition
of this popular history of medicine, beginning with primitive man and
concluding in the 19th century. Overall a very good copy: Minor shelf wear, spine ends and corners lightly bumped; interior is clean and free of markings. Much of the work focuses on the role of myth and magic in medicine.
The volume is divided into five "books". BOOK I: The Medicine of Primitive Man; BOOK II: The Medicine Of The
Ancient Civilizations; BOOK III: Greek Medicine; BOOK IV: Celtic, Teutonic, And
Medieval Medicine; BOOK V: Chapter The Dawn Of Modern Scientific Medicine; BOOK
VI: The Age Of Science. A sampling of Book I includes: Primitive Man a Savage;
The Medicine and Surgery of the Lower Animals; Poisons and Animals; Animism Who
discovered our Medicines?; The Priest and the Medicine-man: Originally one; Disease,
the Work of Magic; Origin of our Ideas of the Soul and Future Life;
Disease-demons; Savage Theories of Disease Demoniacal; Witchcraft; Offended
Dead Persons; Magic and Sorcery in the Treatment of Disease; Medicine men;
Sucking out Diseases; Origin of Exorcism; Cast out by Beelzebub; Menders of
Souls; Fever Puppets; Amulets; Totemism and Medicine; Use of Medicinal Herbs
amongst the Aborigines of Australia, South America, Africa, etc; Universality
of the Use of Intoxicants; Egyptian Beer and Brandy; Mexican Pulque;
Plant-worship; Union with the Godhead by Alcohol; The Cow-religion; Bacchic
Rites; Spiritual Exaltation by Wine; Customs connected with Pregnancy and
Child-bearing; The Deities of the Lying-in Chamber; and much more.
