“I do not pretend to teach her how, I ask her to teach herself”

NIGHTINGALE, Florence (1820-1910). Notes on Nursing: What It Is And What It Is Not by Florence Nightingale.  New York: D. Appleton and Company 1860. 1st US Edition. 8vo (203x135mm) 140pp [4][Pages advertising other listings from publisher]. Original brown textured cloth binding with embossed border decoration and gold gilt lettering on the front board. Library index number written in white pen on the spine. This copy is an ex-library copy from the Harvard Medical School Library and contains both a bookplate showing this on the front pastedown and stamp with a handwritten date “From Harvard Medical Library Association Exchange 14 Jan, 1914”. There is also returned sticker on the rear free endpage, with a red stamp showing the book was withdrawn with a return date of 14th October 1970. There is a “Withdrawn” stamp over the library sticker at the front confirming this copy was withdrawn permanently from the library collection.

As is to be expected with a library copy, this is a well worn copy with some issues. There is water damage to the bottom left corner of the front and rear boards - this is not particularly noticeable on the front but is more pronounced for the rear where there is a tear to the cloth. There is also damage to the base of the spine with a tear. Remarkably, this is not echoed on the inside of the book which is clean and in good condition with only small amounts of foxing and minor tears along the very edges of a few pages.. There is a tear on the rear pastedown but this is purely cosmetic. The spine and binding of the book is slightly delicate, with page 24 very nearly loose from the binding, but still currently attached. However, the other pages are well bound and do in fact feel tight and the textblock is square and otherwise in good condition. 

Considered the creator of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale “The Lady with the Lamp” came to prominence for her treatment of soldiers during the Crimean War where her training and practices significantly reduced death rates. In 1860 she established her nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, as well as publishing this work “Notes on Nursing: What It Is And What It Is Not” . This work is proposed by Nightingale not to be a strict set of rules, but rather a series of guidelines by which she may “give hints for thought to women who have personal charge of the health of others”. This is a very good copy of a famous and essential piece of medical and scientific history, and would be a fabulous addition to any collectors library.