Beschreibung:

SNOW, John (1813-1858). On Chloroform and other Anaesthetics: their Action and Administration . Edited by Benjamin Ward Richardson. London: T. Richards for John Churchill, 1858. 8 o (213 x 135 mm). 2 wood engravings, one full-page. (Some faint marginal discoloration.) Modern half calf. FIRST EDITION of Snow's comprehensive treatise on anaesthesiology completed a few days before his death, and published posthumously by his friend B. W. Richardson with a detailed biography. "Snow's treatise... placed the administration of chloroform and ether on a scientific basis" (Norman). "When chloroform was introduced into anesthesia by James Young Simpson in November 1847 [see lot 1296], Snow was quick to appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of the new drug. Snow's expertise in apparatus led him to construct new pieces for the administration of chloroform. He laid emphasis on the use of such apparatus as a means of delivering low and exact percentages of chloroform in air; this was in direct contrast to Simpson's 'open method' of dropping chloroform on the corner of a towel or handkerchief. The controversy between protagonists of the two methods lasted for the remainder of the century, but Snow was the pioneer in raising the art and practice of English anesthesia and anesthetic apparatus to its subsequent heights... Anesthesia... became respectable on 7 April 1853, when Snow administered chloroform to Queen Victoria at the birth of Prince Leopold" (DSB). The work includes a description of amylene, which Snow had been the first to administer, in 1856. Osler 1367; Waller 9035; Norman 1970.