Parson, Vital Magnetism, 1877, inscribed by author
VITAL MAGNETISM: ITS POWER OVER DISEASE. A STATEMENT OF THE FACTS DEVELOPED BY MEN WHO HAVE EMPLOYED THIS AGENT UNDER VARIOUS NAMES, AS ANIMAL l MAGNETISM, MESMERISM, HYPNOTISM, ETC., FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES DOWN TO THE PRESENT. BY FREDERICK T. PARSON, (Magnetic Physician). NEW YORK: ADAMS, VICTOR & CO., PUBLISHERS, 98 WILLIAM STREET. 1877.
Original cloth. Corners slightly bumped. Some wear to cloth, particularly at top edge of boards (like shelf wear but at the top rather than the bottom). Inscribed by the author. Hinges reinforced at some point, joints strong, Clean, bright, and tight throughout.
“Vital magnetism is a subject but little understood in this country. Its phenomena, although generally recognized, have never been carefully studied, nor the results carefully formulated. Dr. Brown-Sequard, in his lectures upon nervous force, in Boston, in 1874, said of Mesmerism as a power producing anæsthesia: "It seems to me unfortunate that the discovery of ether was made just when it was, as it prevented the progress of our knowledge as to this method of producing that condition. It was a process that was long and tedious, and surgeons were in a hurry and gave it up." Testimony like this from so eminent a physician must satisfy all that Mesmerism is both a science and an art worthy of most careful consideration. In France and England the highest medical authorities have for thirty years shown a growing interest in animal magnetism as an element in therapeutics; and the author cites innumerable instances where, in hospitals and private treatment, nervous force has been made available to absolute and permanent cure of diseased persons.
The reading of the argument and evidence as presented in this work will be a new revelation to many of our readers; and, with the exception of medical men, we know of no class of persons who should be made acquainted with these interesting facts sooner than teachers. This book is a valuable contribution of facts, authorities, illustrations, and discussions on this very interesting subject.” (New England Journal of Education, Dec. 6, 1877, Vol. 6, No. 22 (Dec. 6, 1877), p. 262)
