Item #20685 Exposé de la méthode hydrothérapique: Histoire, théories, technique, applications cliniques [TOGETHER WITH] Sixteen-page manuscript draft for a lecture by Beni-Barde. Dr. Beni-Barde, Joseph-Marie-Alfred.

Exposé de la méthode hydrothérapique: Histoire, théories, technique, applications cliniques [TOGETHER WITH] Sixteen-page manuscript draft for a lecture by Beni-Barde

Paris: Masson et Cie. 1905. First Edition. Very Good. Item #20685

Large 8vo; pp. [4], xv, [1], 454pp.; original buff printed wrappers (a bit a faint dampstaining along top edge and some soil spots); cracking to spine paper at crown without loss, else a very good, sound copy. Presumably the author's copy with an eight-page manuscript rough draft of a lecture on the effects of hydrotherapy on dyspepsia. Manuscript comprised of four bifolium sheets with the letterhead of the Établissements Hydrothérapiques d'Auteuil et de la rue Miromesnil, under the direction of Beni-Barde, 63, rue de Miromesnil, "De 10 h à 11 h. et demie et de 4 h. à 5 h. et demie."

One of the author's many exhaustive studies of the myriad forms of hydrotherapy, published at the height of its popularity as a treatment for most ailments. Beni-Barde was the leading pioneer in hydrotherapic studies, using patient research made first at Bellevue from 1860 to 1865 and later at the Auteuil establishment, which he directed full-time until 1880. In 1876 he founded the establishment referred to (along with that in Auteuil) on the letterhead, in Paris. Though the manuscript does not name a place or date for the lecture, the author begins with: "Je me presente à vous comme un ?substitut de fortune ?flatteusement choisi par le Prof. A[lbert] Robin pour vous preciser les ?indications fondamentalles qui doivent gouverner les applications hydroth. chez la pluplart des dyspeptiques." (It should be noted that while Beni-Barde's hand is quite attractive, it is exceedingly difficult to decipher (at least for this cataloger), and, with the manuscript's purpose being the rough draft of a lecture, the hand seems to grow increasingly sloppy and hard to read as the work progresses.)

The author provides his definition of dyspepsia at the beginning of his lecture, although the talk concludes with the vagueries of the chemical versus psychological roots of the malady. Beni-Barde then delineates a short history of the progress of hydrotherapy in France as a treatment for dyspepsia, focussing primarily on the advances made by the renowned internist Armand Trousseau, who was an early experimenter with various water temperatures, for which the "Appareil hydro-mélangeur" would prove imperative. While dyspepsia is not among the major illnesses covered in the author's "Exposé," this lecture appears to be the precursor of a chapter on the same subject in the author's work "Clinique Hydrothérapique" (Masson, 1908). A substantial portion of the talk is devoted to various water temperature recipes, although the author stresses that treatment will vary from patient to patient.

One copy of the "Exposé" located in the United States as of February, 2015, at the National Library of Medicine.

Price: $450.00