The Principles and Practice of Medicine. Designed for the use of practitioners and students of medicine. [PRESENTATION COPY]

New York: D. Appleton & Co, 1905. Sixth edition, first state. Cloth. Very Good. Sixth edition, first state. 1 leaf (presentation copy leaf), xvii, [1], 1143 pages. Original (red) cloth. Professionally rebacked with original spine laid down. Original boards preserved with color toning mostly to the rear board to address mild dampstaining. Light marginal dampstaining to the inside lower gutter prelims through pp69, pp 1085-1143, and occasionally otherwise. Occasional smudges/stains not affecting readability as befits a book designed to be used. Blue colored ring stain pp 655-672. The first state of this edition with signed PRESENTATION Leaf. The printed presentation leaf, bound at the very beginning, reads as follows: "Presentation Copy | This is Number 30 [number filled in, in ink] | of the first 105,000 copies printed." INSCRIBED in ink by WILLIAM OSLER "Dr. James Stewart | from | Wm Osler" below the printed presentation notice. Cloth. "Two states of the sixth edition (1905) were produced. The first contained an added leaf on heavier stock preceding the title page, with the printed note, 'PRESENTATION COPY. This is No. __ of the first 105,000 copies printed.' The numeration begins with 'No. 1' (i.e. the 100,001st copy), a volume inscribed to 'Mrs. Osler from the author' that is now in the Osler Library collection. Some copies of the first state bear the holographic inscription 'Sincerely your [sic] Wm Osler' on the supernumerary leaf, apparently for later presentation. The second state may be distinguished by the absence of the presentation page. A newspaper clippeing of the time tells of Appleton's announcement that over 105,000 copies had been sold, and that 'in spite of the fact that its price is more than three times as great, its sales rival the most successful novels.' Figures from Osler's daybooks indicate that the cumulative royalties on the tetbook at this time amounted to $54,512, or an equivalent amount of approximately $1,069,000 in 2001" (Golden, pp 104-05).

This example, number 30 and not one of the pre-signed copies for later presentation, indicates Osler probably had some personal connection with the recipient. Dr. Stewart may be the same Stewart which Osler stayed with for a time in 1883. Dr. Thomas Roddick (who introduced Lister's antiseptic system to Montreal in 1877) bought a house at 80 Union Avenue in 1880, a home which [William] Osler and Dr. James Stewart lived in while Roddick was in Europe in 1883. (McDermot, p.80) Osler also mentions a Stewart in his 1904 work "Aequanimitas : with other addresses to medical students, nurses and practitioners of medicine" on page 289 noting he is "President of the Association of American Physicians".

"Osler's textbook was the best English work on medicine of its time. He became Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford in 1904. Besides being one of the greatest of all clinicians, he was possessed of a fine literary style and an extensive knowledge of medical bibliography. Garrison has written of him: 'When he came to die, Osler was, in a very real sense, the greatest physician of our time . . . Good looks, distinction, blithe, benignant manners, a sunbright personality, radiant with kind feeling and good will toward his fellow men, an Apollonian poise, swiftness and surety of thought and speech, every gift of the gods was his; and to these were added careful training, unsurpassed clinical ability, the widest knowledge of his subject, the deepest interest in everything human, and a serene hold upon his fellows that was as a seal set upon them'.". (Morton's Medical Bibliography 2231 (citing 1st ed., 1892))

This PRESENTATION state is difficult to find. Osler is well collected in medical circles. A nice addition to any medical collection.

LITERATURE:
Richard L. Golden, The History of William Osler's The Principles and Practice of Medicine, Osler Library McGill University, 2004
Jeremy Norman, Morton's Medical Bibliography, Fifth Edition, Scolar Press, 1991
H.E. MacDermot, "Sir Thomas Roddick: his Work in Medicine and Public Life" Toronto, 1938, p. 80. (found on the Osler library website)
Osler, Bibliotheca Osleriana, #3551.