An Inaugural Dissertation on the Influence of the Passions upon the Body, in the Production and Cure of Diseases [Presentation Copy]

Philadelphia: Printed for the Author, by Kimber, Conrad, & Co., 1805. 48pp. Pamphlet, removed from nonce volume. First Edition. Presentation Copy. Author's inscription to dedication leaf's verso: "For George Poyntell with the respects of The Author." Title-page trimmed down affecting imprint (i.e., publisher and date trimmed out); subsequent leaves trimmed crudely or tightly, affecting author's inscription, and a few words or signature marks, but not sense.  Foxing; soil and small perforation on title page; one leaf with old paper repair; otherwise, good.

Doctoral dissertation by Philadelphia physician and surgeon Joseph Parrish (1779-1840), submitted to the trustees and medical faculty of the University of Pennsylvania.

Parrish here investigates the effects upon the body of the passions of fear, anger, joy, and grief. He presents notes on 29 medical cases and discusses such diseases or conditions as epilepsia, hypochondriasis, hysteria, mania, melancholia, and gestation and parturition.

The pamphlet is inscribed to George Poyntell, likely a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's medical school in 1808.¹

"In 1802, on the recommendation of physician and fellow Quaker Samuel Powel Griffitts, Parrish became an apprentice to another Quaker, physician Caspar Wistar, then professor of anatomy and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. ... Parrish received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1805. His dissertation, On the Influence of the Passions upon the Body, in the Production and the Cure of Diseases, which he dedicated to Wistar, was published the same year. ... Parrish was active in many of Philadelphia's medical and scientific organizations. A member of the American Philosophical Society, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Medical Society, he served the two medical organizations in various capacities, including the office of vice president [...] Known as a skillful surgeon, he was, according to his friend and former student George Bacon Wood, second only to Physick in eminence as a surgeon in Philadelphia." (ANB)

Shaw & Shoemaker 9096. Austin 1456. Note. 1. General Alumni Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania 1922 ([Philadelphia, 1922]), p484. No physical copies in ORBIS.