‎Hartley, David.‎
‎A view of the Present Evidence for and against Mrs Stephens's Medicines, As a Solvent for the Stone. Containing A Hundred and Fifty-five Cases. With some experiments and observations.‎

‎London S. Harding, J. Robinson, and J. Roberts. 1739 ‎

Reference : 5800

‎First edition. A collection of evidence concerning a medicine provided by Mrs Stephens. Hartley is a supporter of this medicine, and in this work, put forward his case that it was both safe and effective. The first part of the work was previously published as a pamphlet in 1738. This received some criticism and rebuttals, so he here produced further cases and a re-affirmed conclusion. Contemporary full leather, with gilt dentelles to the boards and gilt decoration to the spine. Leather label with titles. The work has suffered water staining to the front board (doesn't affect the inside of the book). The spine is quite rubbed, and with cracking to the top edge, and the label. A little chipping to the top of the spine. The leather is a little brittle following the water damage. Marbled end papers. The title page also has staining to the edges, but is substantially sound. The rest of the book is in good condition, with a little marking / darkening only. There is a nicely written paragraph of manuscript in French to the front end paper. This is outlining where various papers have appeared in French translation. The contemporary French manuscript note on the front endpaper points to early continental interest in Hartley's work. Joanna Stephens spent roughly fifteen years developing a stone-dissolving remedy, ultimately a mixture of calcined eggshells and snail shells, soap, herbs and honey, as an alternative to lithotomy, the brutal and often fatal surgical alternative of the day. After building a reputation through published testimonials, she offered to make her secret formula public in exchange for £5,000, an enormous sum. A private subscription fell well short, so Parliament itself stepped in: a panel of trustees, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, tested the remedy on patients over several months, and in June 1739 Parliament agreed the evidence was convincing enough to pay her the full £5,000 from public funds. An extraordinary and unprecedented act of the state purchasing a medical secret for the public good. David Hartley (17051757) was a Yorkshire-born physician who practised in Bury St Edmunds, London and Bath, and who suffered severely from bladder stones for most of his adult life, which is precisely why he became personally invested in Stephens's remedy, which gave him some relief. He is better known today for his philosophical work "Observations on Man" (1749), which founded associationist psychology and had a lasting influence on later thinkers. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was such an admirer that he named his own son Hartley after him. This work is particularly interesting as it was produced to promote the private subscription, including a list of the early subscribers. It was only after that subscription fell short that Parliament stepped in. vii, 204 [iii]. pages. 19cm x 12cm. OCLC: 14328263. Despite quite a number of library holdings, there are no copies of this work available for sale at the time of cataloguing.‎