Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1571

JOHN DIX FISHER (1797-1850) Description of the distinct confluent, and inoculated small pox, varioloid disease, cow pox, and chicken pox. Published by Lilly, Wait 1834 2nd ed. iv, 73 pp., 13 col. plates. 33.3 cm.

Fisher graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1825 and went to Paris where he spent the next two years studying under Laennec, Andral, and Velpeau. He was among those present at Massachusetts General Hospital when ether was introduced into surgery and was one of the first to use it during childbirth. Fisher founded the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston, was its physician, and was a proponent of education for the blind. This work first appeared at Boston in 1829 but the plates and many unsold copies were destroyed by fire. The paintings from which the plates were engraved were made when Fisher was studying at Paris in 1825 and were available for this edition. The delicately colored plates, drawn from life, illustrate the various forms and stages of pox and varioloid disease as recognized by the author. Six vaccination needles are inserted into the margins of two of the pages, indicating that the book may have been used as a handy reference in the treatment room.

Cited references: Cushing F160 (1st ed., 1829); Wellcome III, p. 29 (1st ed.)

Gift of John Martin, M.D.