Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1056

JOHN COAKLEY LETTSOM (1744-1815) History of the origin of medicine. Printed by J. Phillips, for E. and C. Dilly 1778 viii, 168 pp., 3 fold. plates (2 col., front.). 29 cm.

Lettsom, a Quaker and noted philanthropist, was born in the British Virgin Islands. He received his initial medical training in England, practiced for a time in the West Indies, returned for further study at Edinburgh, and later went to Leiden where he received his M.D. degree in 1769. Lettsom then practiced in London where he developed a large practice and became well known for his philanthropy. Although he contributed little to the science of medicine, he was active in promoting groups that championed the welfare of the common man. Lettsom was a founder of the General Dispensary on London's Aldersgate Street, the Royal Humane Society, the Royal Sea-Bathing Infirmary at Margate, the Medical Society of London, and the Society for General Inoculation. Lettsom was an active writer whose interests included science, medicine, biography, and philanthropic topics. This book was originally delivered as an oration to the anniversary meeting of the Medical Society of London on January 19, 1778. Although it contributes little to the substantive history of medicine, it became quite popular and was widely read. Lettsom includes a general introduction to the history of medicine, which he divided into nine periods marked chiefly by such notable medical figures as Hippocrates, Serapion, Galen, Paracelsus, Harvey, and Boerhaave. Other chapters on surgery, midwifery, anatomy, botany and pharmacy, and mystic medicine are general in their coverage and include extensive references and footnotes. The most interesting feature of the book is the illustration of a chaplet which belonged to a Senegalese king and to which are attached many grigris, or charms. The grigris consist of small pieces of paper enclosed in decorated cloth or leather pouches. A wide variety of charms are written on the papers to cover nearly every contingency of life. Several of the grigris on this chaplet contain verses from the Koran written in Arabic.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 6381; Osler 6041; Waller 14052; Wellcome III, p. 504

Gift of John Martin, M.D.