Practical Observations Concerning Sea Bathing

Practical Observations Concerning Sea Bathing, to Which Are Added Remarks on the Use of a Warm Bath Details the medicinal and recreational aspects of hot and cold bathing. Buchanan explores the benefits of sea bathing in reducing and curing a number of ailments, including tuberculosis, tumours, fevers, nervous disorders, sleeplessness, menstruation, pregnancy and ‘hysterical affections’, as well as drawing comparisons to the benefits of warm baths. Born in Wakefield in 1764, Alexander Peter Buchanan studied anatomy and medicine, later settling in London where, in 1813, he became a physician. ‘The view of the wide expanded ocean, its ever-varying forms, elevates and exhilarates the mind, while the cool and vivifying breezes, which play around its shores, ventilate the withered lungs, and dispel that languor of the mind.' London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1804. First edition. Hardcover. 207pp. Later navy-blue cloth with gilt titles to spine, light wear to boards, corners bumped, edges browned, light foxing throughout, some small tears, chips and stains to a few pages, a couple of passages of text marked in ink by a previous owner, internally clean. Overall, a very good copy.…