On Incubation of Insanity
London: S. Highley, 1846. 8vo. [4], 23, [1] pages. Disbound. A few minor chips at sheet edges, generally fine. Item #408506
First offprint edition, printed for private circulation, this essay was read at the London Medical Society and originally appeared in The Transactions of the Medical Society of London for 1845. Forbes Winslow (1810-1874) was a British psychiatrist, author and an authority on lunacy during the Victorian era. He had published in 1840 'The Anatomy of Suicide,' arguing that most suicides are not criminal, and in the early 1840s wrote two key works on insanity in the context of crime: the present work and 'The Plea of Insanity in Criminal Cases' (1843). In 1847 he opened two lunatic asylums in Hammersmith, and employed the humane method of treatment which is now universal but was then considered controversial. The frequent employment of the plea of insanity in criminal cases was largely due to his influence. His son, also a psychiatrist, was famous for his involvement in the Jack the Ripper and Georgina Weldon cases. Scarce.
Price: $750.00