Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$20.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 12mo, 406, 16 pages, publisher's embossed brown cloth, corners bumped, small chips around the joints and tips of spine; x-library This has the first binding state [ BAL 8803 ], and has the 16-page publisher's catalogue at the end (not issued with all copies. Much on medical reform, and homeopathy, Also, his "Essay on the Mechanism of Vital Actions" was written before Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES appeared.
Seller: Thomas J. Joyce And Company, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Price: US$22.20 + shipping
Description: Octavo, gray-green cloth (hardcover). Poor; texblock loose in case and in halves. In this landmark work, Holmes calls for reform in the practice of medicine, attacking the disproven dogmas still held dear by many doctors and calling for scientific testing of drugs. He attacks the drug companies for profiting by sending unproven drugs into the market, and implies that contemporary doctors were ignorant, timid, lazy, stupid, and greedy. He also calls for medical researchers to shift their focus from concocting nostrums to understanding the causes of illness. His contemporaries in the Massachusetts Medical Society voted nine to seven to disclaim the views he expressed. General reaction to his thesis ranged from high praise to vicious attacks, to which Holmes replied, "A loud outcry on a slight touch reveals the weak spot in a profession, as well as a patient." Medicine, History of Medicine, Presciption Drugs, Rx. KHS - X22
Seller: Lighthouse Books, ABAA, Dade City, FL, U.S.A.
Price: US$29.95 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1861, First Edition, 8vo., 406 pages. Book bound in a brown blind stamped cloth, lettering in gilt on spine. Faded samp staining to title page and a few pages of Preface, else book very good. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall
Seller: Cape Cod Booksellers, Yarmouth, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$41.34 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. Brown pebbled cloth. ix, 406 pp. Bookplate of Dr. Edgar T. Peer. Spine coked, sunned. Ear to spine ends and corners. Interior age toned. Hinges cracked.
Seller: Minotavros Books, ABAC ILAB, Whitby, ON, Canada
Price: US$43.75 + shipping
Description: First edition, 8vo, pp. ix, [3], 406, [2] (ads), 16 (ads); original purple blind-tooled "BD" cloth (this binding variant not noted in BAL), brown glazed endpapers; spine and edges faded to tan, contemporary pencil inscription on front free endpaper, else a very good, sound copy. BAL 8803: "With the exception of the 'Preface,' 'Some More Recent Views of Homoeopathy' and 'Mechanism of Vital Actions,' all the material in this book had prior separate publication.
Seller: Rulon-Miller Books (ABAA / ILAB), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
Price: US$64.16 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: xi+406+(2, pub.lists); t.p. has early blue oval stamp of The College of the City of New York, their large Library label to front pastedown overlaid by modern [private ex-lib. plate, main text clean, tight and otherwise unmakred butedge-tanning throughout; brown front end-paper quite fragile, detached but re-attached with transparent tear-repair tape, this however remains very visible and rather unsightly doen recto gutter, outer corner tips both chipped, rear end-paper much better but outer edge all very slightly chipped; original binding has been expertly relaid on black cloth, relaid spine chipped at both ends and now brown, original boards with publishers blind-stamped central logos lighter than underlying cloth rebind which shows through down gutters and front outer corner tips, all edges and back corners rubbed (rebind to spine region and front corners only). Includes 2 essays on homeopathy, pueperal fever, 'The Position and Prospects of the Medical Student' and an address to medical graduates, twomof these originally appeared in magazines, the rest first given as talks or addresses. First eds. scarce even in U.S. A reference /working copy of this important work by the great essayist, poet and medical reformer, who, incidently, coined the word 'anaesthesia'. Size: 14 Cms x 19 Cms
Seller: Douglas Books, Tunbridge Wells, United Kingdom
Price: US$65.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: ix, 406 pgs, with adverts. 5 x 7 3/4 in. Dark green/black embossed cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Bound with two pages of ads, rather than the 16 pg catalogue dated in April. Condition of the book is GOOD; ends of spine chipped, spine discolored and faded. Front hinge cracked, partly detached, though binding is sound. Edges and corners worn. Covers worn and scuffed. Text very clean, upper edge of text block darkened. Spine very slightly cocked.
Seller: Andre Strong Bookseller, Blue Hill, ME, U.S.A.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Description: ix [1] 406 [2, ads] pp. 8vo, publisher's plum cloth. First edition. Cloth sunned with fraying to the ends of the spine; tight and sound.
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$80.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Hard cover, 12 vo., (measuring 4 3/4 x 7 3/8 inches) in brown "T" publisher's cloth with several blindstamped banded borders, corner fleurons and a large central filigree design. Title in gilt to spine. 288 pp and 312 pp. Per Blanck: has Currents "Nearly Ready," suggesting first or second state. However, p. 13 "richer" and p. 23 "all" and "it's" suggest fourth state. So, likely an amalgamation of the two. This was Oliver Wendell Holme's first novel, republished from earlier serialization in The Atlantic Monthly. This was one of Holme's "medicated" novels, wherein the Harvard-trained medical doctor and author diagnosed a "medical aberration" in his main character. In this case, a snakebite to the mother whilst pregnant, causing the onset of weird, snake-like tendencies in a young woman. An interesting moral tale, involving marriage, inheritance and the concept of original sin. The origin of the phrase "Boston Brahmin" stems from the first chapter of this work. Condition: Good Plus. Stain to front board of Vol. 1. Some water staining affects preliminaries (not Title page) and other external edges of some text and endpapers in Vol. 1 only. Shelf wear to head and tail of both spines, with small losses. Owner's signature in old hand (pencil) dated May 1861 in both volumes. Lacking Publisher's catalogue. BAL 8801, p. 252. Bleilor p. 102.
Seller: Dark and Stormy Night Books, Newburyport, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$97.20 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First US Edition. First Printing. Very Good.
Seller: Riverside Books and Prints, Cold Spring, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Description: 8vo. Publisher's brown cloth, covers stamped in blind, spine titled in gilt; spine faded, closed tears to head of spine cloth REFERENCE: BAL 8803
Seller: Bull's Head Rare Books, ABAA, ILAB, Lebanon, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Description: Two tiny tears in spine top; small piece chipped from spine bottom; small piece chipped from edge of blank leaf before title.
Seller: By Books Alone, Woodstock, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of this collection. Includes first appearance of the "Preface," "Some More Recent Views on Homoeopathy," and "Mechanism of Vital Actions." With the cancelled state of signature 2 as usual. BAL first binding. 1 vols. 8vl. Holmes on Homoeopathy and Natural Medicines. BAL 8803 Original purple cloth with covers designed with thriple rule frame and a cartouch enclosing T & F, brown coated endpapers, 18 pages publisher's advertisements dated April 1861. Some light rubbing of cloth, small marks along upper inner gutter, light browning of text First edition of this collection. Includes first appearance of the "Preface," "Some More Recent Views on Homoeopathy," and "Mechanism of Vital Actions." With the cancelled state of signature 2 as usual. BAL first binding.
Seller: The Old Mill Bookshop, HACKETTSTOWN, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$175.00 + shipping
Description: Small 8vo. Original blind-embossed purple cloth, gilt spine. ix, 406pp, (2pp ads), 16pp ads. Very good. Mildest bit of edgewear, with spine slightly sunned. A tight and handsome first edition of Holmes' first important medical essays collection -- reprinting earlier essays (including the important "Puerperal Fever, as a Private Pestilence") and printing two new essays for the first time ("Some More Recent Views on Homeopathy" and "Mechanism of Vital Actions"). This attractive copy came from the library of ELMER A. SMITH, a noted Chicago attorney and Illinois Central Railroad solicitor general and noted medical collector who presented two papers about Osler, one titled "Sir William Osler as seen by a layman" -- and bears a bold gift inscription from him in blue ink on the front flyleaf: "To my friend / Andrew R Ferguson / with great / Expectations & affection / for you / Elmer A Smith / June 11, 1945." BAL 8803.
Seller: Main Street Fine Books & Mss, ABAA, Galena, IL, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Octavo. First issue, [i-iii]; [i-xii]; [1]-406; dedication page after copyright page and no ads, bound in half tan polished calf over marbled paper covered boards and matching endpapers, gilt lettering on red and brown morocco spine labels, remaining compartments fully gilt decorated, top edge gilt. From the library of authors J. Christian Bay and Alfred Paul Bay with both of their bookplates to front pastedown. Third blank (inserted leaf) with a presentation inscription M.Y. Bean/Compliments of/ ? A. N. Whiting. A fine, bright copy.
Seller: Charles Parkhurst Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Surprise, AZ, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of this collection. Includes first appearance of the "Preface," "Some More Recent Views on Homoeopathy," and "Mechanism of Vital Actions." With the cancelled state of signature 2 as usual. BAL first binding. 1 vols. 8vl. Holmes on Homoeopathy and Natural Medicines. BAL 8803 Publisher's cloth, first Binding. Very nice copy First edition of this collection. Includes first appearance of the "Preface," "Some More Recent Views on Homoeopathy," and "Mechanism of Vital Actions." With the cancelled state of signature 2 as usual. BAL first binding.
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. 1 vols. 8vo. Magnificent copy of the first edition, a variant, without the inserted dedication leaf. "With the exception of the 'Preface,' 'Some More Recent Views on Homoeopathy' and 'Mechanism of Vital Actions,' all the material in this book had prior separate publication." BAL 8803 Dark green cloth (BAL first binding Variant A). Beautiful copy
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Holmes, Oliver Wendell. ELSIE VENNER: A ROMANCE OF DESTINY .. Ticknor and Fields, Boston, 1861.
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Description: 12mo, two volumes: pp. [i-ix] x [xi] xii [13] 14-288; [i-iii] iv [5] 6-312 + 16-page publisher's catalogue dated "August, 1861" inserted at rear of volume two, flyleaves at front and rear of both volumes, original decorated brown cloth, front and rear panels stamped in blind, spine panels stamped in gold and blind, brown coated endpapers. First edition. According to the publisher's records, there were four printings during the period January-April, 1861. Volume one conforms to BAL's probable third printing, with "Currents" described as "Just Published" on page [ii] and battered type on pages [ix], [13] and 23. A later form of publisher's catalogue, dated "August, 1861," is inserted at rear of volume two. "The tragic story of a young girl who inherits certain ophidian characteristics because her mother was bitten by a rattlesnake while pregnant; this becomes a parable relating to the question of how much moral responsibility people must bear for their actions. By far the most interesting of Holmes's 'medicated novels;' the other two [THE GUARDIAN ANGEL (1867) and A MORTAL ANTIPATHY (1885)] are more straightforward psychological case studies." - Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 2-83. "Sometimes a little primitive and clumsy in narration, but with many good touches and a pathetic central situation. Certainly worth reading." - Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 1118. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-538. Clareson, The Emergence of American Science Fiction: 1880-1915, pp. 42-3. Bleiler (1978), p. 102. Reginald 07363. BAL 8801. Wright (II) 1249. Small early private owner's bookplates affixed to front paste-downs. A remarkably clean, attractive copy, basically fine, or nearly so. (#110259)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Description: Original brown pebbled cloth, decorated in blind. Bookplate of Alfred Sutro. An exquisite copy with a note from Sutro laid in. First edition, first issue. The first collection of Holmes' medical writings. Included are "Currents and counter-currents in medical science"; "Homeopathy, and its kindred delusions"; "Some more recent views on homeopathy"; "Puerperal fever as a private pestilence"; "Position and prospects of the medical student"; "Mechanism of vital actions"; and "Valedictory address to medical graduates of Harvard, March 10, 1858." All but two were previously issued as pamphlets. BAL 8803; C&T, p. 97; Cushing, H411; Osler, 2992.
Seller: B & L Rootenberg Rare Books, ABAA, Sherman Oaks, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Description: Twelvemo. [xii], 406, [2, ads], 16 pp. ads dated April 1861, the month of publication. Full dark green crushed morocco by BradstreetÕs. Gilt triple rules on covers, gilt-decorated spine with raised bands, gilt inner dentelles, top edge gilt. A few light spots on front cover. Otherwise a fine, clean copy. With the authorÕs bookplate, featuring a sea snail and the motto ÒPer ampliora ad altiora.Ó BAL 8803.
Seller: Michael R. Thompson Books, A.B.A.A., Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.