Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Richard Middleton Massey to Hans Sloane – May 7, 1707
Item info
Date: May 7, 1707
Author: Richard Middleton Massey
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4040
Folio: f. 357
Original Page
Transcription
Massey went to see a polypus, or octopus, caught on the coast last night, which was supposed to be ‘the strangest thing that ever was seen’. Massey found a figure of it in Johnston’s work.
Richard Middleton Massey (1678-1743) attended Brasenose College, Oxford but left before obtaining a degree. In 1706 he was admitted Extra-Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians and settled in Wisbech where he practiced medicine. Massey was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1712. He compiled the catalogue of the library of the Royal College of Physicians in 1727 (http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/2969).
Patient Details
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Patient info
Name: N/A Unnamed Man
Gender:
Age:45 years old.
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Description
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Diagnosis
Tympanites, or swelling of the abdomen, which Massey believes is what Platerus calls 'Tensio Hypochondria'. The man has suffered since Christmas.
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Treatment
Previous Treatment: The man has been 'dabbling' with one Dr Salmon, an apothecary, and an old woman. Massey has tried diuretics, 'antiscoributicks', and 'carminating' medicines.
Ongoing Treatment:
Response: No treatments, from Massey or the others, have had any effect.
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More information
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Medical problem reference
Dropsy, Hypochondria, Stomach
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Geffroi Stieve to Hans Sloane – April 4, 1702
Item info
Date: April 4, 1702
Author: Geffroi Stieve
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4038
Folio: ff. 321-322
Original Page
Transcription
Stieve sends a package on behalf of a Dr Helurg of Breslau (Wroclaw). He offers his services from The Hague.
Geoffroi Stieve was the Gouverneur du Comte de Bourghaussen.
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Richard Middleton Massey to Hans Sloane – March 24, 1707/08
Item info
Date: March 24, 1707/08
Author: Richard Middleton Massey
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4041
Folio: ff. 121-122
Original Page
Transcription
Richard Middleton Massey (1678-1743) attended Brasenose College, Oxford but left before obtaining a degree. In 1706 he was admitted Extra-Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians and settled in Wisbech where he practiced medicine. Massey was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1712. He compiled the catalogue of the library of the Royal College of Physicians in 1727 (http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/2969).
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Richard Middleton Massey to Hans Sloane – April 2, 1708
Item info
Date: April 2, 1708
Author: Richard Middleton Massey
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4041
Folio: ff. 124-125
Original Page
Transcription
Massey wants to know how to refine spermaceti taken out of a beached whale’s head.
Richard Middleton Massey (1678-1743) attended Brasenose College, Oxford but left before obtaining a degree. In 1706 he was admitted Extra-Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians and settled in Wisbech where he practiced medicine. Massey was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1712. He compiled the catalogue of the library of the Royal College of Physicians in 1727 (http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/2969).
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Joseph Pitton de Tournefort to Hans Sloane – January 24, 1703
Item info
Date: January 24, 1703
Author: Joseph Pitton de Tournefort
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4039
Folio: f. 77
Original Page
Transcription
Tournefort notes the difficulty of communicating during this time of war. He will wait until peace is restored to send the plants he collected on his last voyage. He is pleased to hear that Sloane has acquired Charleton’s collection.
Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656-1708) was a French botanist who developed the idea of taxonomically organizing plants according to the concept of genus. He published the famous Elements de botanique (1694) and travelled the Mediterranean and Caucuses to research their flora from 1700 to 1702 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pitton_de_Tournefort).
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz to Hans Sloane – May 5, 1702
Item info
Date: May 5, 1702
Author: Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4038
Folio: ff. 339-340
Original Page
Transcription
Leibniz sends Sloane an account of a newly discovered comet. He reminds Sloane that he still wants his opinion on the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar. He has heard that John Wallis is dead and hopes it is not true.
Leibniz was a German mathematician and philosopher who contributed significantly to the development of each field among others (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz).
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Bezaleel Sherman to Hans Sloane – September 4, 1708
Item info
Date: September 4, 1708
Author: Bezaleel Sherman
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4041
Folio: ff. 198-199
Original Page
Transcription
Sherman sends calf bones. They were found in the mother’s uterus after the calf died. ‘Mr Ja: Fox of Toulson Knights sends his service’ to Sloane.
Bezaleel Sherman was a surgeon.
Patient Details
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Patient info
Name: N/A Unnamed
Gender:
Age:Seventeen.
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Description
Patient's thigh had a compound fracture.
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Diagnosis
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Treatment
Previous Treatment: Sherman had to take out two inches of femur.
Ongoing Treatment:
Response: Six months later Sherman was surprised to find that the leg is not a quarter of an inch shorter than the intact one. The patient is strong and has no limp.
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More information
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Medical problem reference
Injuries (includes wounds, sores, bruises), Fracture
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
John Nicholson to Hans Sloane – June 19, 1708
Item info
Date: June 19, 1708
Author: John Nicholson
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4041
Folio: f. 156
Original Page
Transcription
Nicholson asks for the titles of rare books in foreign languages. He would like to translate them. He offers Sloane an engraved map manufactured by his Company.
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Paul Jodrell to Hans Sloane – May 26, 1705
Item info
Date: May 26, 1705
Author: Paul Jodrell
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4075
Folio: f. 333
Original Page
Transcription
Paul Jodrell was a Clerk to the House of Commons.
Posted on August 2, 2016 by -
Charles Bodvile Robartes to Hans Sloane – June 14, 1707
Item info
Date: June 14, 1707
Author: Charles Bodvile Robartes
Recipient: Hans Sloane
Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4040
Folio: ff. 371-372
Original Page
Transcription
Charles Bodvile Robartes, 2nd Earl of Radnor (1660-1723) was an English politician in the House of Commons from 1679 to 1681 and again in 1685. He inherited the title Viscount Bodmin on the death of his father in 1682 and the title Baron Robartes and the earldom on the death of his grandfather in 1685. He married Elisabeth Cutler in 1689 however never fathered any children. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1693. His name appears on the list of members of nobility and gentry who in 1688 deserted King James II and pledged allegiance to William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Robartes,_2nd_Earl_of_Radnor).