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UNIDENTIFIED DOCTOR : 1881 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT TRAVEL DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A KINGSTON ONTARIO DOCTOR MORE INTERESTED IN HOSPITALS THAN HOTELS AND SURGERY MORE THAN STATUARY

24mo - over 5" - 5¾" tall. On offer is a very interesting original manuscript diary of a Kingston, Ontario, Canada surgeon who 'does' the Grand European Tour. Unusual for a travel diary but of particular interest to collectors and researchers of medical arts will find that the doctor while on tour from May 11, 1881 made every effort to spend his time visiting other doctors, witnessing surgical procedures, touring hospitals and clinics and immersing himself in medicine on his tour. Of further surprise is his splendid writing style, distilled, but he is a keen observer and highly intelligent, so his entries constantly illuminate and surprise. Here are some snippets after first stopping in New York City for 3 eventful days including a visit to the Five Points House of Industry School, located in the notorious Five Points section of New York: "Visited the five points house at industry school to see the children in their service of song -- interesting -- 100 little girls and 150 little boys uniformly dressed -- some not over three years of age -- are well-trained -- sing their pieces beautifully -- repeat the credo of the Lord's prayer and sing the responses to the 10 Commandments well -- what noble Christian work, some of the pieces are sung by children too young to speak plainly. Services lasted one hour -- a great deal of building going on in New York. As I was coming from the house at industry school I was struck with the competition going on in trades- turning from Worth St. into the Bowery to the left was a Museum open advertisement read "the fat lady", "the long bearded man from Scotland" and "the smallest woman in the world." A few doors further up on the opposite side was another museum containing a giant, a "man of mystery", and a "human salamander." All around were small stores and saloons in full blast- in this part are 'Barnum's clothing stores', 'Boss Tweed Dining Hall', Morrissey Beer Saloon' ,etc. The next day he was to witness an operation by a Doctor Thomas at 3 PM at the Woman's Hospital. "Dr. Thomas operates beautifully was only about 20 minutes long- under carbol.- protects the edges of the wound with Vaseline to prevent absorption of bad matter from the sac- uses ether- ties the stump with carbolized silk ligature," etc. this was for a cyst. He also viewed a 'closure of a ruptured perineum' on a Canadian woman. On May 19 he took the steamer "City of Montréal" to Liverpool: "20 minutes more and I will leave my native land, perhaps forever." [This is interesting if not a bit alarming, because when he left Kingston four days before, he mentioned "waving to his three boys on the wharf- we waved our handkerchiefs to each other till out of sight."] He had some wonderful observations of his 16 day sea journey to Liverpool, England. He arrived there May 31st at dawn. He first remarks of the affability of the people, the pretty women and barmaids, and good paved streets. He enjoyed England very much, attending some more surgeries at some of the hospitals in London. He spent three days in London, from June 2. He visited London Hospital and witnessed many surgeries. "….free and easy life in London. Women drunk and singing on the streets. Exposed to smallpox at the hospital today." He visits St. Bartholomew's Hospital at Newgate, and University College Hospital, where he studies for some examinations which he is graded on. It looks like he is taking some courses there and perhaps improving on his surgeon's degree (?) Again, he witnesses a few operations and remarks upon them in great detail. He meets many surgeons there, mentioning all by name. He spends five or six days a University College Hospital, witnessing the curriculum, the operating at the theater, taking exams, etc. His brother joins him on July 10 and they toured the Epping Forest region, as well as many museums and other places of typical interest. On July 21 he leaves for Dover, and from Dover and the cliffs over to Calais. He arrives in Paris on July 22. From Paris he goes to St. Cloud, and on August 1 he leaves the Gare de Lyon station for Geneva, Switzerland. He tours that region, with remarkable observations in his typical distilled style. He saw Basle, Lausanne, and Berne, all the time remarking at how clean and beautiful Switzerland was, with its beautiful mountains, vistas, and vineyards. He spent a few days in Berne, but since they mostly spoke German there, it was somewhat frustrating. He then toured Lucerne, and then sailed down the Rhine into Germany for 5 days, the highlights being the Krupps Gun factory, and the fact that wine was the main drink- you could only buy wine, not water, anywhere! He then went to Belgium (Brussels and Antwerp), and sailed for Queensboro He returned via ship steerage back to London, where he arrived August 11, spending his remaining time with a Mr. Porter, whom he had met on the first leg off his journey. On August 25, he sailed for home, with a lifetime's worth of memories. This journal is notable for its details into medical/surgical practices as well as for the sights of Europe. 140+ pages, binding shaken, some loose pages, overall G.. Manuscript. Book Condition: Very Good

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