GANDHI OFFERS DIETARY AND HEALTH ADVICE TO JOHANNESBURG PIONEER JEWISH ESTATE AGENT J. H. ISAACS - TWO PAGE TLS 17TH AUGUST, 1904 by Mohandas K. Gandhi ( "Mahatma") - 1904

Johannesburg, South Africa, 1904. Two page typed letter signed ( "M.K. Gandhi" ) with two word emendation, on his business letterhead stationery, M.K. Gandhi, Attorney 21-24 Court Chambers, Corner Rissik & Anderson Streets, P.O. Box 6522, Johannesburg, 17th August, 1904, stamped " Date Received" top of page one, a few pin holes and creases where folded, overall Very Good. A reply to correspondence from pioneer estate agent J.H. Isaacs, whose name remains prominent across South Africa to this day thanks to the namesake major property services firm he founded, A pillar of the Jewish community in South Africa, Isaacs laid the foundation stone of the first synagogue in Durban (1884). With envelope in Isaacs' handwriting in pencil - "Mahatma Gandhi Prescription to J.H.I.", and a newspaper clipping from the Johannesburg Star dated June 20, 1983 captioned "HISTORY - Some dietary advice from Gandhi that has stood the test of time" which establishes the provenance of the letter from Isaacs to his granddaughter. The letter reads: (1)"Dear Mr. Isaacs, I do not think any apology was necessary for not acknowledging earlier the receipt of the book.I hope however that it will do good. I am glad you are feeling better; recovery will be slow. I would commend to your attention a striking article in the July number of the 'Contemporary Review' called 'Economic Nutrition' but if you do not get the time to read it for yourself I summarise the conclusions below:- Eat only two meals a day. Omit the breakfast; omit even tea or coffee. Let the first meal be not before noon and then eat only if you are really hungry. Drinks should be taken sparingly at meals. All sloppy foods to be avoided. Eat as slowly as you possibly can taking if need be an hour over your meal. In practice you will require so little that you will not have to pass an hour over each meal. The thing is that no matter what food you are taking, it should be chewed over and over again so that it is not swallowed but passes down the throat being no longer capable of chewing. Several experiments have been described by the reviewer of the article in question all going to show that in almost every instance, especially rheumatism, a complete ( emendation) 'cure is' obtainable. (2) If you could follow this out, continuing the baths, recovery would be far more rapid. The best mode of being able to chew one's food well is to take hard bread, preferably Kuhne bread, and if you can take it without anything to give it additional taste, it becomes almost incumbent to chew the bread well. Yours truly, M.K. Gandhi J.H. Isaacs, Esq., P.O. Box 5575 JOHANNESBURG" . According to his granddaughter, Isaacs "had had digestive problems and ...had attended a talk in health and nutrition that Gandhi gave in Durban, and wrote to him afterwards, asking him the questions Gandhi answers". A lifelong vegetarian, Gandhi had both a great concern for the well-being of those around him and a keen interest in diet and nutrition, which he researched avidly, this letter being an early example of that interest and research. Earlier in 1904 he had advocated with the local government concerning the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in the Indian community which led to the outbreak of a bubonic plague epidemic, and later the same year he founded Phoenix Settlement, his communal living experiment. Arriving in South Africa in 1893 at the age of 24 for what was intended to be a short stay, Gandhi would spend the next 20 years there, developing the ideas and concepts that would change the world. This letter presents an excellent example of Gandhi's concern for his fellow man and his dietary practices, and a wonderful piece of early Johannesburg history. Letters from this early in his South Africa years are RARE. . SIGNED BY AUTHOR. Very Good. 8" x 10".