Books and Manuscripts

Osler, William
The Cerebral Palsies of Children...
Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co., 1889. First edition. 8vo. viii, 103 pp. Presentation copy, inscribed on title-page by William Osler to Dr. J. Richard Taylor: “Dr. Taylor / from W.O.” With in-text illustrations. Publisher's brown cloth-covered boards, stamped in blind and in gilt, very light soiling to boards, foot of spine lightly frayed; all edges trimmed; Taylor's ownerhship signature in pencil on front paste-down; in cloth slip case. Golden 525

Presentation copy of William Osler's classic work on cerebral palsy, inscribed to Philadelphia-born and trained pathologist Jay Richard Taylor. The first major book on cerebral palsy, Osler's work was composed from five articles he wrote for Medical News. Influential since its publication, it helped define the condition of cerebral palsy, and represents a major contribution to pediatric neurology. 

Dr. Jay Richard Taylor was born in Philadelphia in 1856, and graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, in 1878. From 1880-83 he served as chief surgeon to the county hospital in Breckenridge, Colorado, and from 1883-89, surgeon to the Wigton Collieries in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. During this time he organized cottage hospitals that served the coal mining communities of Pennsylvania, and was one of the first to volunteer his services in the aftermath of the Johnstown Flood. From 1889-90 he served as Chair of Pathology and Practice of Medicine at the Medical College of the State of South Carolina, and then moved to Brooklyn where he established a successful private practice. During the Spanish-American War he served in the General Military Hospital at Camp Wykoff, Montauk Point, on Long Island. He then served as a pathologist and assistant gynecologist at Williamsburg Hospital, Brooklyn, and pathologist to the Brooklyn Gynecological Society.