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Crawford died greatly in debt, following the substantial decline
of his practice. Scorned by much of the medical profession
for his theories, and not having acquired great personal wealth,
his dwindling professional reputation eroded the last of his
financial resources. In spite of his professional disfavor,
however, he managed to cultivate and enjoy a friendship with
the great Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia. In his diary dated
Nov. 16, 1808, Rush wrote of Crawford:
This
evening Dr. Crawford of Baltimore drank tea with me
… The doctor said he had lost all his business
by propagating an unpopular opinion in medicine, namely,
that all diseases were occasioned by animalculae. He
said he was sixty-two years of age and not worth a cent,
but in debt.1 |
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Crawford’s
library is reputed to have been a collection unparalleled
in the city of Baltimore. He is known to have business
arrangements with George Keasley, a London bookseller,
who had published in 1772 one of Crawford’s earliest
works, entitled AN ESSAY ON THE NATURE, CAUSE AND CURE,
OF A DISEASE INCIDENT TO THE LIVER. It is he to whom the
doctor owed a substantial sum. Crawford’s will discussed
the distribution of his Masonic papers, making allowance
for their eventual publication and sale, in order
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…
that the profits of these publications may be applied
to the payment of my debts, particularly that which
I owe to Mr. George Keasley, Bookseller in London. I
will and direct that all the residue of my property
estate and effects of every kind, including my Library
of Books, shall be sold and the money arising therefrom
applied to the payment of all just claims against me…
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Although
we do not have any records officially documenting the transaction,
we read according to Eugene Cordell that the University’s
Faculty of Physic purchased the Crawford library in 1813 “from
his widow,” a purchase supposedly made possible by a
subscription of $500. This claim is somewhat in error, as
Crawford’s will never mentions a wife. In actuality,
it is known that his daughter Eliza Godefroy, who had participated
in the doctor’s earlier literary efforts, was actively
involved in the administration of his final affairs. Regardless
of the specific details, the real significance of the transaction
is that it brought a library to the University which had been
lacking one since its founding six years earlier. By way of
modern-day observation, the acquisition of this collection
by the University’s mother campus represents the origin
of the entire University of Maryland Library System.
The
Crawford collection of 569 volumes is the centerpiece that
graces the Library’s beautiful Theodore E. Woodward
Historical Reading Room. The items in the collection represent
several languages, a perfect reflection of the make-up of
its original owner’s personal education. Besides English,
other languages include Latin, French, German, and Dutch.
Crawford’s bookplate and inscription are visible in
many of the volumes.
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The
KREUTTERBUCH of Hieronymus Bock is the earliest imprint
(1565) in the Crawford collection, and the second earliest
in all the Library’s collections. Along with his
contemporaries Otho Brunfels and Leonhard Fuchs, Bock
was part of the “German Fathers of Botany.”
While the others drew upon the descriptions set down
by such earlier authorities as Theophrastus and Dioscorides,
Bock wrote fresh, original descriptions of what he actually
saw in the local flora of Germany. This volume also
exhibits some very interesting features of book arts
technology. The ornately-decorated cover material is
worn away at the corners to reveal the solid wood boards
underneath, and thick raised bands and fore-edge clasps
add to its artifactual charm as well.
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Benjamin
Moseley was a surgeon and apothecary at Kingston in
Jamaica. This title, originally published in 1787, continued
on through four editions up until 1804. Moseley authored
a number of works, on various subjects such as cow pox,
dysentery, hydrophobia, plague, and yellow fever, and
also a book entitled A TREATISE CONCERNING THE PROPERTIES
AND EFFECTS OF COFFEE. It would seem that Crawford must
have identified well with Moseley -- of particular significance
is the fact that in 1808, Moseley also wrote a REVIEW
OF THE REPORT OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYICIANS OF LONDON
ON VACCINATION. This was only a few years after Crawford's
own experimentation, introducing the practice into Baltimore.
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This
book on cancer by Willem Leurs appeared as volume 2
of the set of Prize essays from the Society for the
Advancement of Surgery of Amsterdam. The society was
founded in 1790, and it issued its PRIJSVERHANDELING
BEKROOND DOOR HET GENOOTSCHAP TER BEVORDERING DER HEELKUNDE
TE AMSTERDAM as six volumes published in three, between
1791 and 1807. A second series began a few years later,
appearing as the NIEUWE PRIJSVERHANDELING... between
1809 and 1838. Leurs also authored the 1791 essay on
scrofula, and another book in that same year on fractures. |
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Joan
F. Ellerbeck was Chief Surgeon to the Dutch East India
Company. This work addresses the subject of plague,
as it prevailed between the years 1770 and 1774, specifically
from the standpoint of the Company's ships and their
tendencies to transport the rats responsible for spreading
the disease. This book includes two interesting illustrations
depicting a large, elaborate ventilation shaft device
intended to bring fresh air down into the recesses of
the lower decks. |
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While
not a medical book, Jackson’s accounting text
undoubtedly would have been a handy reference useful
to Crawford in his administrative duties. Originally
published in Dublin in 1771, and accepted internationally,
this work enjoyed a long bibliographic history. Copies
began being published in America in 1801, with editions
originating from several different publishers in Philadelphia
and New York, continuing well up until at least 1816.
The American editions were included as part of the Early
American Imprints series. In addition to general rules
of practice, this valuable guidebook also includes sample
ledgers and tables of foreign currency exchanges.
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One
volume had a particularly unique individual history. The collection
includes a copy of ELEMENTS OF NATURAL HISTORY, AND OF
CHEMISTRY, by Antoine-François de Fourcroy (London
: G.G.J. and J. Robinson, 1788). The second volume in this
set contains an extended inscription on its front free endpaper
that reads:
This
single vol. 2 (instead of the 5, 1788-9) was received
through the Medical Library Exchange, 1939. The translator
of the 1. ed. was Thos. Elliott
(Index
Catal.). J. Crawford (1746-1813) whose book plate is
opposite, was an interesting man, who suggested infection
through insects. See Osler’s note on him at #994.
A smaller, circular, form of his plate is pictured in
Bulletin, Sch. Of Med., Univ. of Maryland,
1938, 23:56. W.W.F.
The
Curators (Trustees) of the Osler Library gladly donate
this to the Medical Library of the University of Maryland,
so that after some 128 truant years it may rejoin the
other volumes of Crawford’s set.
W.W. Francis, Librarian 20 Oct., 1941 |
It
is perhaps not a surprise that a classical education such
as Crawford’s would have included exposure to the six
comedies of Terence. This edition, with its elaborate frontispiece,
is dated 1675.
Giambattista
Morgagni, the great pathological anatomist and Professor at
Padua, was certainly very similar in mind to Crawford. In
this volume, Letter 27, which is devoted to diseases of the
belly, speaks directly to the subject of Crawford’s
theories:
On
the other hand, when in the appendix, which is subjoin’d
to the scholia of the observation, the question is of
worms in the human body, causing excessive hunger, by
their peculiar magnitude, or number, there is no reason
for hesitation thereon. For these creatures live in
their proper places, and feed on their natural provision:
and if their place, and provision, be not in proportion
to their magnitude, or at least to their multitude,
it is evident that the animal, in which these worms
are, being defrauded of its nourishment, must be often
troubled, with an incredible hunger, and often even
with an incredible thirst.3 |
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The
French medical school at Montpellier, founded in the
year 738, was one of the most celebrated medical institutions
of Europe. As indicated by his credentials, then, Lafosse's
position there as well as his status in the Royal Society,
made him a reputable authority as a source of helpful
information for the benefit of the French colonies.
This work focuses on the particular fevers and other
conditions known to be prevalent in that region, including
such disorders as whooping cough, smallpox, chicken
pox, tetanus, and syphilis. |
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Charles
Bonnet’s TRAITE D’INSECTOLOGIE was a pioneering
work on the subject of parthenogenetic reproduction.
In his early years, Bonnet read the works of Reaumur,
and his scientific curiosity led him into the study
of natural history. He intensively experimented with
insects, and at the age of twenty-six, he discovered
that a female spindle-tree aphid which he carefully
had raised, produced ninety-five offspring without mating.
In other experiments, he observed that species of worms
which had been cut into twenty-six pieces, would regenerate
into twenty-six fully-intact new worms. These discoveries
certainly must have impressed Crawford as he investigated
the proliferation of insects in disease etiology. Bonnet's
extensive experimental research, and his resultant natural
philosophy, remained profound influences upon the naturalists
of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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Jaques
Brez was a learned naturalist who traveled widely, and
wrote other accounts of the flora and fauna of many
of the regions he visited. Interestingly enough, he
here acknowledges the mentorship of Bonnet by quoting
him in the epigram. This work focuses on many of the
species known to be useful insects, which he had occasion
to observe. A major feature of this book is the section
entitled "Flore Insectologique," an extensive
catalog of plants and the insects associated with them,
according to their Linnean nomenclature.
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REFERENCES
1 Julia Wilson, "Dr. John Crawford,
1746-1813," Bulletin of the School of Medicine, University
of Maryland 25 (1940) : 117.
2 Julia Wilson, "Dr. John Crawford, 1746-1813,"
Bulletin of the School of Medicine, University of Maryland
25 (1940) : 118.
3 Morgagni, Giambattista, The Seats and Causes of Diseases,
Investigated by Anatomy (London : Printed for A. Millar,
and T. Cadell, 1769), v. 2, p.5 |
