AN ACCOUNT OF THE ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS, IN 1767, COMMUNICATED IN A LETTER FROM THE HONOURABLE ISAAC JAMINEAU, ESQ....TO JOHN MORGAN, M.D. F.R.S. AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE IN THE COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA...[caption title].
Jamineau, Isaac: [American Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge]:
[Philadelphia. ca. 1768-1769]. Broadside, 13 x 8 1/4 inches. Printed in three columns. Sheet trimmed close around text. Three small tears in edges, intruding slightly into the text, but with no loss. Old fold lines. About very good. An unrecorded American colonial broadside, printing the text of a letter from the British consul in Naples to Dr. John Morgan in Philadelphia, and giving a firsthand account of the 1767 eruption of Vesuvius. Jamineau describes the first warning signs of the eruption, as black clouds emanated from the volcano, followed by severe tremblings in the earth. He then recounts how the lava flowed out of the volcano in all directions, forcing the king to evacuate his palace and retreat toward Naples and beyond. The aftermath of the eruption is also described, as smoke and ash emanated from Vesuvius for a week. Jamineau also includes a history of Vesuvius eruptions dating back to 79 A.D. John Morgan, Jamineau's correspondent, was born in Philadelphia in 1735 and studied medicine in England and France before returning to the American colonies to practice medicine and teach. He was an important force in spreading the teaching of medical techniques in the colonies, helped found the American Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge in 1766- 67, was a physician at the Pennsylvania Hospital, and was named medical director of the Continental Army in 1775. The caption title of this broadside notes that it was "published by order of" the American Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge. Though it is undated, the American Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge was merged with the American Philosophical Society in 1769 and subsumed its name to that of the older organization, so it is likely that this was printed sometime in 1768 or 1769. We can find no record of this broadside in Evans, Bristol, Shipton & Mooney, NAIP, Hildebrand, or OCLC. Unrecorded, interesting, and apparently unique.
(Item ID: WRCAM37735) $5,000.00