A Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Skin

Henry Granger Piffard authored the first systematic treatise on dermatology in America and is heralded as one of the founders of dermatology in America. Piffard’s Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Skin (1891) is seen as an early and important photographic study of skin diseases. The Winkler Center has an incredible collection of oversize monographs with detailed and artful medical illustrations. Piffard’s was one of the first books on the subject of dermatology to use the relatively new medium of photography as a means of studying skin diseases.

Condition and treatment: This is a late 19^th century half leather binding with gold stamped lettering along the front cover. The title page contains two handwritten inscriptions that indicate the book was gifted to R.W.Good in 1937 by A.R. Walker, MD Later in 1981, the book was donated to the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library by Ralph Good MD, MS, in memory of Dr. Walker and Dr. Peter Good. The textblock is in fair condition; however, the cover is suffering from severe red rot. Conservation staff will consolidate the leather and repair the binding. The binding will be housed in a polyester jacket within a cloth covered clamshell enclosure.