On the nature and treatment of tetanus & hydrophobia

By no means a groundbreaking work on the suibject, Reid’s On the Nature and Treament of Tetanus… is noteworthy rather for how savaged it was by critics reviewing it. The book was taken to task by the American Journal of the Medical Sciences for being a work of “not much value…slim, jejune and penurious” and a “mere sketch of the…disease…it purports to cure.” The Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal claimed the work had “no originality” and that Reid’s skills as an illustrator were negligent. Criticism aside, the Winkler Center has an important and extensive collection of 19^th century medical literature both national and international. Reid’s is an early 19^th century work on the topic of tetanus. For that reason, and the fact that only eight copies of On the Nature and Treatment of Tetanus… exist in the United States, the Winkler Center sees it deserving of preservation treatment and retention.

Condition and treatment: This is a 19^th century paper covered case with a deckled edge textblock. The original paper binding is heavily worn and brittle and the spine is completely lost. As a result, the upper board has become detached. In order to keep all the parts together, a well-intentioned custodian adhered a strip of black cloth tape to the boards and spine and has since stained the paper below. The first few pages in the upper gathering are loose and in danger of becoming lost. Conservation staff will remove the black cloth tape prior repair, reattach the loose leaves to the textblock and repair the cover. The binding will be housed in an archival blue corrugated clamshell.