Description:

BILLS OF MORTALITY (5)
Very interesting collection of five printed ‘bills of mortality', each 1p. 8vo. ea., Portsmouth, Ma., 1803-1807. Bills of mortality were used by towns and cities primarily in the English-speaking world to list in detail the deaths that occurred in any particular year. For example, for all the years listed the leading cause of death was ‘consumption', or what today we would call pneumonia. One case that is of note is ‘The nonclosure of the foramen ovale, in a child of two days old, is a singular occurrence, the child was very healthy, strong, and robust, but suddenly changed to a blue colour, gasping for breath; friction and a warm bathing restored its colour but for a few minutes, the blue appearance returned, and he died gasping for breath, evidently for want of the circulation through the lungs'. The child also had ‘canalis arteriosus', which occurs when only one blood vessel is present at the heart. Both of these conditions are treatable today. All of these were issued by LYMAN SPALDING (1775-1821), an American physician and creator of the Medical Pharmacopeia, which remains the standard for drug making in the United States. Very good.

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April 2, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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