Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture on the Diseases of Cattle in the United States
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1871. 4to. 290 x 230 mm. (11 1/2 x 9 inches). [4], 205 pp. Illustrated with 7 chromolithographic plates, 6 micro photographs and one lithograph. Bound in contemporary pebbled morocco spine and tips over marbled paper boards; edges rubbed, but a sound and attractive copy.
First illustrated edition; the text was published in an abbreviated form in 1869. This report was initiated by an outbreak of disease in a large number of Texas cattle that had been shipped north and landed in Cairo, Illinois. The disease quickly spread, and a government response was requested through the House of Representatives. A team lead by the English Professor of Veterinary Medicine James Gamgee and the botanists H. W. Ravenel of South Carolina traveled to Texas to find the origins of the diseased live stock. In an attempt to better illustrate their findings of the impact of the disease on the lungs, spleens, hearts, and kidneys, they employed the latest technology of chromolithographic printing and micro photography to produce highly legible, detailed images of damaged organs.
The color printed plates and photographs were produced in Baltimore by the Hoen & Co, Chromolithographers and they demonstrate the use of color printing for medical research. (295). Item #295
Price: $300.00