On Cutaneous Diseases, Volume I
Philadelphia: Kimber and Conrad, 1809.
On Cutaneous Diseases is universally recognized as the founding text of modern dermatology, the first work to establish a systematic classification of skin diseases based on morphology rather than presumed internal cause — a system (later completed by Thomas Bateman) that laid the groundwork for how dermatologists still categorize skin conditions today. This is Volume I of an early Philadelphia printing, published in 1809 by Kimber and Conrad, and covers Willan's first four orders of classification: Papulae, Squamae, Exanthemata, and Bullae. As an early American edition of Willan's foundational work, printed only a few years after the London original began to appear, it represents an important moment in the transmission of Willan's classificatory system to American medical practice.
Condition & Binding: This copy survives in its original plain paper-covered boards (a plain blue-grey paper over boards, typical of the utilitarian bindings used on inexpensive American medical texts of the period), with a printed paper spine label reading "WILLAN ON THE SKIN, VOL. I." The condition is fragile and should be disclosed clearly to buyers: the spine covering is heavily worn, chipped, and lifting, with losses and exposed sewing structure visible along the spine; the boards show significant wear, staining, and edge chipping/loss, particularly at the corners; and the text block, while sewn and holding together, shows heavy foxing and toning throughout, with rough/deckled and worn edges to many leaves and some edge chipping to the title page and adjacent leaves. Overall- poor to fair. Item #929
Price: $400.00