Eclectic Practice of Medicine, Rolla L. Thomas, 3rd edition (1920 hardcover) Another RARE Eclectic Medicine Book!

Another Important Eclectic Work On Medicine 

This is an original 1920 third edition hardcover copy of "Eclectic Practice of Medicine," written by Dr. Rolla L. Thomas and published by John K. Scudder. The topics discussed can be seen on the contents pages. Over 1000 pages of text, supplemented with many illustrations & photos, await the reader.

The copy being offered is in fair vintage condition overall. As you'll see in my first five photos, the covers have moderate wear, with some visible staining, light scrapes, and rub marks. Inside, the pages are mostly clean, with occasional light smudges, and the binding remains rather strong. Writing occurs inside the front cover and on a blank page inside that cove, a small newspaper clipping has been glued to the inside of the cover, and a light brown stain of the same size and shape as the clipping appears on the opposite page, which is otherwise blank. I found no other writing or marking while flipping through the book, so if any exists, it certainly isn't much. Other flaws near the front cover include tearing of the bottom 5 1/2" of the title page and a small split in the binding after the title page (the paper spanning the title page and preface page is torn at the binding--this is minor and is hard to see. 

In 1906, Dr. Rolla Thomas completely revised the 1866 teaching manual by John Milton Scudder, and revised it yet again in 1907. This was the culmination of a thirty-year frenzy of published creativity at the Eclectic Medical Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was the main teaching text at that school until the1930s…the college closed in 1939. Throughout can be viewed the primary thesis of Eclecticism: No matter what the disease may be named, treat the person with the symptoms first. Strengthen the defenses and support the life energy. Of course medicine as progressed exponentially since then…yet in some ways it has been infeebled by not treating the person, the actual “translator” of the disease, rather treating the pathology. The Eclectics were the most sophisticated of all the Medical Reform Sects that arose from the mid-1800s, lasted the longest and published the best books. This is a physician’s manual, and can be harrowing at times, but it offers a clear and precise model for the clinical application of a vitalist healing philosophy. Many potentially fatal disorders harried our foreparents, many barely treatable by ANY physician, including the Eclectics…many are now merely footnotes, so capable is current medicine and public health. Yet, underneath it all is the basic tenant, still important and applicable, that HOW a person gets sick is at least equal to WHAT the name of the disease is. In this realm, much of this book is still useful, even subversive. “…it were better for the doctor if he can forget that his patient has typhoid fever, pneumonia, dysentery, or whatever he may have, and study the conditions that are present. This may be wrongs of the circulation, of the nervous system, of the secretions, of digestion, of assimilation, or wrongs of the blood, but whatever the basal lesion, it must be overcome if the patient is to be benefited by medication.” – Introduction