Ben Rhydding. The Principles of Hydropathy and the Compressed-Air Bath together with A Chapter on the Improved Roman or Turkish Bath

1861. Third edition. vii, 151pp., 1 page advertising another book, frontispiece, 4 plates, and 6 pages containing illustrations of gymnastic exercises between pages 64 and 65. Ben Rhydding is a village in West Yorkshire. The village's former name was Wheatley, and in the 19th century it was noted for its hydropathic establishment, the Ben Rhydding Hydro, which opened in 1844. It was the third major hydropathic establishment in England, and perhaps the most deeply respected. Ben Rhydding, the name given to the establishment, also given to the railway station built to serve it and by which the village subsequently became known, is allegedly the ancient name of the uplands above Wheatley. The author writes in his preface: "The following work was occasioned by a visit which the author lately paid to Ben Rhydding. It seemed that a book descriptive of the place and its treatment, which, while it aimed at correctness on scientific and professional points, would yet be sufficiently popular in its style for the general reader, was very much wanted. It has been the writer's aim to state and explain with as much brevity as possible, the various modes of treatment employed at Ben Rhydding." The book is bound in the original maroon cloth covered boards with gold titling on the spine and a small gold-stamped illustration of the Compressed-Air Bath on the front board. The case of the book is in very good condition with some shelf wear and light soiling on the boards. The spine is faded with bumping to the spine ends. The contents are tight and clean with no inscription.…