An Interactive Annotated World Bibliography of Printed and Digital Works in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences from Circa 2000 BCE to 2022 by Fielding H. Garrison (1870-1935), Leslie T. Morton (1907-2004), and Jeremy M. Norman (1945- ) Traditionally Known as “Garrison-Morton”

15961 entries, 13944 authors and 1935 subjects. Updated: March 22, 2024

BLENKINSOP, Henry

1 entries
  • 14136

Observations in midwifery. As also The countrey midwifes opusculum or vade mecum. By Percivall Willughby, Gentleman. Edited from the original MS by Henry Blenkinsop.

Warwick: Printed at the Shakespeare Printing Press, 1863.

First edition of this work written in English in the 17th century, privately published in 1863, supposedly in an edition of 100 copies, from a manuscript then owned by Blenkinsop. Willughby has been characterized as "the first professional man to devote his practice entirely to obstetrics."

A translation of portions of Willughby's text into Dutch appeared in Jacobus de Visscher & Hugo van de Poll, Het Roonhuysiaansch geheim, in de vroedkunde ontdekt; Tegen de Weederstrevers veredigt...Huig Chamberlen...Willoughby. Leiden: Johannes Heiligert, 1754.  Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

"The earliest copy of his work is a closely written quarto, entitled Dni Willougbaei, Derbiensis, De Puerperio Tractatus, in the British Library Sloane MS. 529. The second, an amplification of this, and referred to by Dr. Denman in his Practice of Midwifery, was then in the possession of his friend Dr. Kirkland; while the third and greatly enlarged edition [i.e. manuscript] consisted of two exquisitely written copies in Latin and in English, which were afterwards the property of Dr. J. H. Aveling, the English version being in two parts, with the titles Observations in Midwifery and The Countrey Midwife's Opusculum or Vade-mecum, by Percivall Willughby, Gentleman. It was privately printed in 1863 by Henry Blenkinsopp, but a Dutch translation had been printed as an octavo at Leyden in 1764, though no copy is now to be had in Holland. He [Willughby] was the intimate friend of Harvey and of most of the scientific men of the century, and died on 2 October 1685, in the ninetieth year of his age, being buried in St Peter's Church, Derby, where within the rails of the chancel is a tablet to his memory" (Wikipedia article on Percivall Willughby).

Digital facsimile of the 1863 edition from the Wellcome Collection at this link.



Subjects: OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY › OBSTETRICS