Title
A Treatise on the Diseases of Children – Michael Underwood (1806, Second American Edition)
Author
Michael Underwood, M.D., Licentiate in Midwifery of the Royal College of Physicians in London; Physician to Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales; Senior Physician to the British Lying-in Hospital
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Description
This 1806 Boston edition of Underwood’s Treatise on the Diseases of Children represents a landmark in the development of pediatrics. Originally published in 1784, Underwood’s work was the first systematic and comprehensive medical text dedicated solely to childhood diseases.
It covers conditions such as “inward fits” (infantile convulsions), rickets, fevers, gastrointestinal complaints, and congenital disorders. The book emphasizes infant management from birth, offering both practical observations and theoretical interpretations rooted in 18th-century medicine.
Condition
Full leather binding with wear, cracking, and spine deterioration; red spine label remains legible. Pages toned with foxing but text remains clear. Prior owner’s signature visible on title page.
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Historical context
Underwood (1737–1820) is often called the “father of pediatric medicine.” His work provided physicians with a structured guide to diagnosing and managing childhood illness at a time when child mortality was staggeringly high. The text was widely reprinted in Britain and America and remained influential well into the 19th century.
Curious Facts, Ephemera, and Trivia
Underwood gave the first clinical description of poliomyelitis (polio), though the disease was not yet understood.
His emphasis on infant care reflected a broader cultural shift recognizing childhood as a unique stage of life requiring specialized medical attention.
The dedication in this edition is to Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, reflecting the prestige of the work.
“Inward fits,” described in the text, were often benign but mistaken for life-threatening illness, illustrating the uncertainties of pediatric diagnostics in the early 1800s.
Excerpt
“Any derangement of the first passages is capable of giving rise to various complaints; among which, that of inward-fits, has lately been taken notice of by some medical people, but I think scarcely deserves the name of a disease… A constant symptom in this kind of fit… is the infant’s little mouth being drawn into a smile; which whoever has noticed must have beheld it with pleasure.”
Why it is in the Cabinet
This book is a cornerstone in the Cabinet’s Pediatrics collection, representing the foundation of pediatric medicine. It reflects both the advances and misconceptions of early child health, providing insight into the challenges faced by physicians and families in the early 19th century.
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