Lucina sine Concubitu. A Letter humbly address'd to the Royal Society

Hoax- [Hill ("Sir" John)], "Abraham Johnson" Lucina sine Concubitu A Letter humbly address'd to the Royal Societythat a woman might conceive and be brought to Bed without any Commerce with Man, The Third Edition, light staining to inner margin of title, modern roan-backed marbled boards, 8vo, by MCooper, 1750 An amusing satire concerning women becoming pregnant without sexual intercourse, written by "Sir" John Hill in revenge for his rejection by the Royal Society One of 5 London editions issued in 1750, two designated "third" (this with 50pp, another with 35pp); there was also a Dublin printing From Wikipedia: "Sir" John Hill was an English composer, actor, author and botanist He contributed to contemporary periodicals and engaged in literary battles with poets, playwrights and scientists He is remembered for his illustrated botanical compendium The Vegetable System, one of the first works to use the nomenclature of Carl Linnaeus In recognition of his efforts, he was created a knight of the Order of Vasa in 1774 by Gustav III of Sweden and thereafter called himself Sir John Hill During the 1740s, and especially in 1746-1747, Hill attended many meetings of the Royal Society, and there presented the results of several of his studies, both in the field of botany (on the propagation of moss), medicine (a surgical operation to remove a needle from the abdominal wall of a man), and geology-chemistry (on the origin of the sapphire's colour, on chrysocolla, on an alternative to Windsor loam for the making of fire-resistant bricks) His works On the manner of seeding mosses and On Windsor loam appeared in the Royal Society's journal, the Philosophical Transactions On the basis of these contributions, Hill apparently hoped to be elected Fellow of the Royal Society Furthermore, he had the backing of several members of the Royal Society: the botanist Peter Collinson, the physician and scientist William Watson, and the antiquarian William Stukeley Moreover, Hill had links with important nobles: John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu and Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, also Fellows of the Royal Society; and Sir Thomas Robinson, Governor of Barbados and antiquarian Despite Hill's merits as a scientist (at a time when many Fellows had no scientific background) and his relations, his election to the title of Fellow failed to materialise Disappointed by the Royal Society's lack, in his opinion, of scientific standards, Hill started to criticise the Society In December 1749, he started writing anonymous, critical reviews of some articles published in the Philosophical Transactions Moreover, in January 1750, Hill began a campaign of criticism and derision against the Royal Society and its president, Martin Folkes, by publishing, under an alias, a treatise entitled Lucina sine concubitu A letter humbly address'd to the Royal Society; In which is proved, by most Incontestable Evidence, drawn from Reason and Practice, that a Woman may conceive and be brought to bed, without any commerce with Man Under the false name of Abraham Johnson, a physician and man-midwife, Hill claimed to have observed cases where women had become pregnant without having had any kind of sexual relations with a man 50 pp.…