HUMPHRY, George Murray (1820-1896)

An early study of old age in England with details of life-styles, maladies and medical condition based on post-mortems. As a compilation of health conditions affecting the extraordinary old, this little book could scarcely be more comprehensive. The evidence for this work was gathered by several participating doctors who, in addition to a routine physical examination, submitted a uniform questionnaire to their senior patients, the results of which were lated tabulated by the author. Incidents of specific diseases, mental clarity, relevant past history and general disposition are individually addressed in this thorough depiction of longevity (Pickering & Chatto Cat. 771). The guarded frontispiece is a pasted-in photograph (woodbury-type) by Valentine Blanchard and Lunn of Cambridge showing portrait of Benjamin Atkins and his wife, each aged 101. The other two photographs are showing the upper end of the thigh-bone, one from an adult aged 103. The lithographed plate has 5 images of the lower jaw bone at various stages of life. ”These pictures are among the first to serve a purely sociological purpose. The author, a surgeon, was a Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge University.” (Truthful Lens 90). The pictures have been exhibited at the University of Rochester Library, Rochester.

Collation: Pp xii, 218. With 4 plates, three of which are mounted woodbury-types and one is a double-page lithographic plate. A printed complimentary slip by the author laid in before the frontispiece. The frontispiece plate curls when book is opened.

Binding: Publisher’s red cloth, dark green endpapers, untrimmed edges.

References: Truthful Lens 90.Charles B. WoodBarbara Rootenberg (2004).