Alcohol and Science; or, Alcohol: What It Is, and What It Does by Wm. (William) Hargreaves, M.D.
Book Details
- Title: Alcohol and Science; or, Alcohol: What It Is, and What It Does
- Author: Wm. Hargreaves, M.D.
- Signed: No
- Publisher: National Temperance Society and Publication House (New York)
- Publication Year: 1886 (copyright 1882)
- Binding: Publisher’s brown cloth with decorative black scrollwork; gilt titles to spine; patterned floral endpapers
- Dust Jacket Condition: N/A (as issued)
- Condition: Good — boards rubbed with wear to edges/corners; fraying and cloth loss at spine ends; gilt spine titling still legible; owner’s inscription (“Jas. Bowman”) to front pastedown; pages evenly toned with minor foxing and handling; binding secure and hinges sound
- Illustrator/Editor/Preface: Includes Preface by the author; references to contemporary experiments (Subbotin, Anstie, Richardson)
- Provenance: Owner’s inscription: Jas. Bowman
- Rarity / Collectibility: A significant 19th-century temperance-era scientific treatise, blending medical testimony and chemistry with the moral reform agenda of the National Temperance Society. Scarce in original publisher’s cloth, this copy represents a core text in the literature of alcohol and public health reform.
Description
Published in 1886, Alcohol and Science sought to present the physiological and chemical realities of alcohol consumption in order to influence both the medical profession and the wider public during the height of the temperance movement. Dr. Hargreaves details the chemical history of alcohols, the processes of fermentation, and the body’s partial elimination of alcohol, drawing on the work of leading scientists and physicians of his day. The book concludes with an analysis of alcohol’s physiological actions, including extracts from Dr. Richardson’s famous Cantor Lectures.
Both a scientific and moral work, this volume exemplifies the blending of late 19th-century medical discourse with the social reform energy of the National Temperance Society.
Condition Notes
- Brown cloth rubbed with decorative stamping intact; wear to edges and corners
- Fraying and cloth loss at spine ends; gilt titles remain legible
- Owner’s name (“Jas. Bowman”) to front pastedown
- Endpapers clean with floral pattern intact
- Pages toned with light foxing and minor handling; text complete and binding sound
Please review all photos for exact condition.
