Reports from the Committee on Madhouses in England

Published by House of Commons, 1815

Reports from the Committee on Madhouses in England. First Report from Committee on Madhouses, 1815, 129 pp. Second Report from Committee on Madhouses, 1815, 130-152 pp. Report, (Also, the Fourth Report of Minutes of Evidence, together with an Appendix of Papers and Accounts, and Engravings, From the Committee on Madhouses in England, 11 July 1815, eight plates. Third Report from Committee on Madhouses, 1815, 153-182 pp First Report of Minutes of Evidence from Committee on Madhouses, 26 April 1816 Third Report from the Committee on Madhouses in England, &c. With an Appendix. Ordered by the House of Commons, to be Printed, 11 June 1816. Continuous pagination 1-214 pp. Eight engraved plates (six double-page) designs for the West Riding, Bethlem, and other asylums seven page reports. Published in four parts in original blue wrappers. Missing the second report from 1816. Six of seven reports, folios. In fair condition. Ex-library of U. Connecticut. Wrappers are toned and modestly soiled with dampness staining and instances of foxing. Quite chipped and prone to flaking. Spines perished, split. Internally good with light toning and minor instances of age stain and foxing. Please see photos. 1st edition reports for 1815, one of the most important documents in the history of psychiatry. The actual report of the committee comprises the first 7 pages, the four Reports themselves containing the Minutes of Evidence, taken from some of the leading figures in psychiatry of the time. There were four Reports in 1815, published between 25 May and 26 June, and a further three in 1816. Together they were a survey of the conditions and treatment of the insane wherever they were confined? A revelation to all but a few when they appeared, they are today a historical source of the first importance containing information nowhere else to be found about how the insane actually fared as opposed to what was written about insanity in books, a disparity between theory and practice which emerges glaringly. Next to them the two earlier Parliamentary enquiries appear almost insignificant. In contrast the 1815/16 Committee s Minutes of evidence is a monumental documentary with plans of asylums, covering all aspects of asylum life. Seller Inventory # RAREB1815DZZA

Bibliographic Details

Title: Reports from the Committee on Madhouses in ...
Publisher: House of Commons
Publication Date: 1815
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Fair
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket