FANTASTIC, 1834 BOOK "OUTLINES OF PHRENOLOGY"

FANTASTIC, 1834 BOOK "OUTLINES OF PHRENOLOGY"

BY G. SPURZHEIM, M. D., PUBLISHED IN BOSTON: MARCH, CAPEN AND LYON, AND CONCORD, NH, 1834
THIRD EDITION.

Aprx 7 x 4 1/2 inches
95 pages

Condition: Bound in the publishers original brown hard boards this rare volume, is in good condition with the following. Outer covers are stained, scuffed, rubbed,
front endpaper 1/2 ripped
First few pages stained but does affect the waiting & some scattered browning on some pages. Rare early 19th century volume is, for the most part, internally fresh and the book is tight.

Information found online:
. The author of this phenomenal treatise was Johann Gaspar Spurzheim [1776-1832], Gall's disciple and the man most responsible for popularizing phrenology. Spurzheim [1776-1832] was a German physician who became one of the chief proponents of phrenology created approximately in 1800 by Franz Joseph Gall [1758-1828]. Appleton's' Cyclopedia of Biography [1856] stated that "his works are too well known to require particular description". Spurzheim also coined the term phrenology. Spurzheim was born near Trier, Germany on December 31, 1776, and studied medicine at the University of Vienna. He became acquainted with Gall in 1800 and was soon hired by him as an assistant. Gall intended to have Spurzheim as his successor and added his name as a co-author to books and publications. In 1812, however, Gall and Spurzheim had a falling out, and Spurzheim started a separate career, lecturing and writing extensively on what he termed 'Drs. Gall and Spurzheim's Physiognomical System'. He greatly popularized phrenology, and travelled extensively throughout Europe, achieving considerable success in England and France. He died of typhoid in Boston, in 1832, cutting short his first and only American tour. After the public autopsy of Spurzheim, his brain, skull, and heart were removed, preserved in jars of alcohol as relics, and put on display to the public. Adoring Bostonians staged an elaborate public funeral and erected a monument in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Spurzheim made many alterations to Gall's phrenological system, including an increase in the number of "organs", as well as its organization into a hierarchical system. Spurzheim also used images and busts to illustrate the craniographic approach of phrenology. Appleton's Cyclopaedia of Biography [1856] stated that "One of his distinct claims is that of having demonstrated the fibrous structure of the brain". The full title of this classic work reads: "Outlines Of Phrenology; By G. Spurzheim, M. D. Of the Universities Of Vienna And Paris, And Licentiate Of The Royal College Of Physicians Of London. Being Also A Manuel Of Reference For The Marked Bust."

A rare find and a very worthy acquisition indeed. Measures approx. 4 1/2" x 7" and has 95 pages.

Notes: See description

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