"The first modern textbook of psychiatry" (Norman), this work represents a definitive moment in Western thought where the "possessed" were formally and systematically reclassified as the "patient." Jean-Étienne Esquirol, the most prominent student of Philippe Pinel, codified the shift from theological to clinical explanations of mental disorder, cementing a transition that had been underway since the late eighteenth century.
For the collector of Western Esotericism and the History of Ideas, Des maladies mentales is a critical text because it documents the medical annexation of the supernatural. Of particular interest is Esquirol’s extensive treatment of "Démonomanie" (Vol I, pp. 482-525). Here, Esquirol reinterprets historical accounts of demonic possession, witchcraft, and religious ecstasy, classifying them as "Theomania" or "Cacodemonomania." He argues that the witches and demoniacs of the past were suffering from specific, diagnosable pathologies of the will and imagination, effectively stabilizing the modern clinical view that these were not spiritual events, but medical ones.
The Iconography of the Insane The Atlas (bound here in Vol. I) contains 27 haunting engravings by Ambroise Tardieu. These are not merely medical illustrations; they are studies in the physiognomy of the damned. Reflecting the early nineteenth-century belief that internal states were legible upon the body, these portraits, stark, empathetic, and deeply disturbing, attempt to categorize the physical "look" of the Idiot, the Maniac, and the Melancholic. They remain some of the most powerful images in the history of medicine, anticipating the later photographic work of Charcot at the Salpêtrière.
Provenance: Dr. Ugo Viviani This copy bears the library stamp of Dr. Ugo Viviani (1871–1944), a figure of significant interest to the history of Italian folklore and medicine. A Florentine psychiatrist and forensic doctor, Viviani was also a prolific scholar of "curiosities." He spent his life in Arezzo, where he published works not just on medicine, but on the bizzarrie (oddities) of Tuscan history, literary hoaxes, and local legend. It is fitting that this foundational text on the classification of madness belonged to a scholar so deeply invested in the eccentricities of human behavior.
ESQUIROL, Jean-Étienne Dominique (1772–1840). Des maladies mentales: considérées sous les rapports médical, hygiénique et médico-légal. Paris: J. B. Baillière, 1838. First Edition. Two volumes (Text Vol. I & II; Atlas bound into rear of Vol. I). 8vo (215 x 135 mm).
Pagination & Collation: Vol. I: pp. xviii (faux-titre, titre, avant-propos), 678; [Atlas]: 1 f. (original printed wrapper for the Atlas), pp. [4] (title, table of plates), 27 engraved plates (numbered 1–27). Vol. II: pp. [4] (faux-titre, titre), 864.
Illustrations: Complete with the Atlas of 27 engraved plates by Ambroise Tardieu.
Binding: Bound in contemporary cardboard boards (cartonnage) preserving the original printed wrappers pasted to the boards. Spines covered in cloth with gilt lettering and numbering. The text block remains untrimmed (non rogné), preserving the full, wide margins and the rough edges of the paper stock.
Condition: Light foxing throughout the text volumes, consistent with paper stock of this period; light wear to the binding extremities. Overall a Good, honest copy in its original, unsophisticated state.
"The first modern textbook of psychiatry" (Norman), this work represents a definitive moment in Western thought where the "possessed" were formally and systematically reclassified as the "patient." Jean-Étienne Esquirol, the most prominent student of Philippe Pinel, codified the shift from theological to clinical explanations of mental disorder, cementing a transition that had been underway since the late eighteenth century.
For the collector of Western Esotericism and the History of Ideas, Des maladies mentales is a critical text because it documents the medical annexation of the supernatural. Of particular interest is Esquirol’s extensive treatment of "Démonomanie" (Vol I, pp. 482-525). Here, Esquirol reinterprets historical accounts of demonic possession, witchcraft, and religious ecstasy, classifying them as "Theomania" or "Cacodemonomania." He argues that the witches and demoniacs of the past were suffering from specific, diagnosable pathologies of the will and imagination, effectively stabilizing the modern clinical view that these were not spiritual events, but medical ones.
The Iconography of the Insane The Atlas (bound here in Vol. I) contains 27 haunting engravings by Ambroise Tardieu. These are not merely medical illustrations; they are studies in the physiognomy of the damned. Reflecting the early nineteenth-century belief that internal states were legible upon the body, these portraits, stark, empathetic, and deeply disturbing, attempt to categorize the physical "look" of the Idiot, the Maniac, and the Melancholic. They remain some of the most powerful images in the history of medicine, anticipating the later photographic work of Charcot at the Salpêtrière.
Provenance: Dr. Ugo Viviani This copy bears the library stamp of Dr. Ugo Viviani (1871–1944), a figure of significant interest to the history of Italian folklore and medicine. A Florentine psychiatrist and forensic doctor, Viviani was also a prolific scholar of "curiosities." He spent his life in Arezzo, where he published works not just on medicine, but on the bizzarrie (oddities) of Tuscan history, literary hoaxes, and local legend. It is fitting that this foundational text on the classification of madness belonged to a scholar so deeply invested in the eccentricities of human behavior.
ESQUIROL, Jean-Étienne Dominique (1772–1840). Des maladies mentales: considérées sous les rapports médical, hygiénique et médico-légal. Paris: J. B. Baillière, 1838. First Edition. Two volumes (Text Vol. I & II; Atlas bound into rear of Vol. I). 8vo (215 x 135 mm).
Pagination & Collation: Vol. I: pp. xviii (faux-titre, titre, avant-propos), 678; [Atlas]: 1 f. (original printed wrapper for the Atlas), pp. [4] (title, table of plates), 27 engraved plates (numbered 1–27). Vol. II: pp. [4] (faux-titre, titre), 864.
Illustrations: Complete with the Atlas of 27 engraved plates by Ambroise Tardieu.
Binding: Bound in contemporary cardboard boards (cartonnage) preserving the original printed wrappers pasted to the boards. Spines covered in cloth with gilt lettering and numbering. The text block remains untrimmed (non rogné), preserving the full, wide margins and the rough edges of the paper stock.
Condition: Light foxing throughout the text volumes, consistent with paper stock of this period; light wear to the binding extremities. Overall a Good, honest copy in its original, unsophisticated state.
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