CURRIE, William.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

An Historical Account of the Climates and Diseases of the United States of America; Scarce first edition of the first substantial American study of climatology and epidemiology, in a pleasing contemporary binding. Only one copy is recorded at auction in the past 15 years.Currie served as a surgeon with the Continental Army (1776-83) and was one of the founders of the Philadelphia College of Physicians. Dedicated to the Philadelphian physician John Redman, this work "is of great practical and historical value because it was the earliest attempt to provide a general view of disease and climate in America... [Currie] established a network of medical correspondents to send him observations and other pertinent data. Proceeding geographically from north to south, he discusses the climate and diseases of each of the thirteen states and includes meteorological tables and mortality statistics when available" (Heirs of Hippocrates). Accounts are given of the particular climates of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Currie also examines the natural and human-induced causes behind alterations in temperature. "The surface of a country may be changed by the arts of human industry in clearing is woods, draining off its water, and levelling its mountains, (as is exemplified in China) where by these means the air, in very unfavourable situations, has been rendered exceedingly wholesome, according to the accounts of the obse

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.