Jekyll Capt John (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 4th Edition. RARE EDITION - WORLD CATALOG RECORDING (ONLY 2 COPIES: Harvard & Yale) : This book offers a fascinating insight into medical innovations from 200 years ago. At the bottom of the title page, in small print, it states: "I am confident from my own observations, and those of the most eminent physicians and surgeons, that if my vapour baths are properly supplied the instant symptoms of cholera morbus or yellow fever are discovered, that not more than one case in a hundred would prove fatal." (See also p. 23.) The book includes 48 pages, with a lithographed frontispiece and a folding plate. While the plates are lightly browned with some foxing, occasional spotting is present, the pages themselves remain very bright and clean. Note: There is an extract from Getty Images, which features an image of an actual vapour bath. Captain John Jekyll's patented vapour bath was designed to create a portable version of this ancient therapy, which has been practiced in both Eastern and Western civilizations. He claimed effectiveness against cholera, yellow fever, rheumatism, gout, and pulmonary disorders, likely with colonial officials and army personnel in mind when developing it. The device's water heating receptacle is made of brass and copper, and the apparatus, which can be dismantled, includes a gown and a stool. According to the Royal Navy Biography site, Jekyll was made a lieutenant towards the end of 1796 and a commander on March 21, 1812. Prior to his promotion, he demonstrated considerable ingenuity by adapting a common hand-pump to serve as a fire engine on board ships. He later obtained a patent for improvements to steam or vapour baths, making them more portable and convenient than those commonly in use at the time. In December 1823, he presented the Bath and West of England Agricultural Society with an excellent break for shoeing oxen, which had been in use for several years and was placed in the society's cattle yard. He also exhibited a portable vapour bath that received high praise from His Royal Highness the Duke of York, as well as several prominent medical professionals from the army and navy, and it is now utilized in some metropolitan hospitals. If steam is indeed a powerful and effective agent in the yellow fever outbreaks of the West Indies, as well as in typhus fever and cholera morbus of India, then Commander Jekyll's vapour bath holds great significance for both services.