"Dispensing with Women's Health" – A 1728 Manuscript written by Thomas Mapples, surgeon & apothecary - Perhaps the first recorded manuscript of the medical remedies of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals
18th century apothecary’s manuscript with notes from Guy’s & Thomas’ Hospitals. [Circa 1728-33]. Octavo (153 mm x 100 mm x 28 mm). A total of 147 leaves with text mostly to rectos, arranged into 4 sections. A leather-bound volume of medical remedies, written by hand, mostly in Latin including solutions for the bite of a mad dog, for a women fainting in travel, a jalop for the gripes etc. Part way through the volume a 'Catalogus Medicamentorum in Usum Pauperum in Nosocomio Divi Thoma', comprising 39 pages of alphabetical entries, continuing with a hand written 'Pharmacopaeia Nosocmy Tomae Guy 1728' comprising 42 pages of alphabetical entries etc. The fly leaf named Thomas Mapples, May 2, 1723. The book partially restored.
An 18th Century apothecary’s notebook comprising manuscript medical textbooks from Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals, together with remedies for childbirth and afflictions surrounding pregnancy. The manuscript commences with various remedies including, “Absinth Comp:22”, “For the Janders”, “For a feaver of a woman that Lyes in & a Rising of ye stomach”, “For a woman fainting in Travel”, “To Quick in travel when to Slow”, “To Quicken Pains when to Slow”, “If Labour have been Long and hard...”, “A Clyster for a woman” “To Give ye Child first” and “To Cast out the after-Birth”,etc. It is unusual that the notebook contains numerous remedies of this nature and may relate to a wider societal change.
After thousands of years in which midwifery had been the province of female midwives, a new wave of university medical graduates in the early 18th century suddenly saw men step into this discipline. Man-midwives, also known as ‘he-midwives’ or ‘accoucheurs’, gained confidence from their modern anatomy training and, armed with the latest obstetric tools, vied with women in this lucrative new trade. The inclusion of related remedies in this manuscript, may therefore be reflective of the notable shift occurring at this time.
The following 2 sections are entitled: ‘Catalogus Medicamentorum in Usum Pauperum in Nosocomio Divi Thoma', 39 pages of alphabetical entries. 'Pharmacopaeia Nosocomii Tomae Guy 1728’, 42 pages of alphabetical entries.
Pharmacopaeias from Guy’s and Thomas’ did not appear in print until later in the 18th century, so these would have been copied from textbook manuscripts circulating around the two hospitals at this time. Guy’s hospital was founded in 1721 and originally established as a hospital to treat "incurables" discharged from St Thomas' Hospital. The fact that this notebook contains entries from both these hospitals, is indicative of the early ties between the two institutions which now comprise the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust. The notebook concludes with 11 leaves of further remedies. The first printed pharmacopoeia from Guy’s Hospital was published in 1791, over 60 years after the penning of this manuscript. It was followed by editions in 1826 and 1837.
Research shows that the author Thomas Mapples, was both a Surgeon and an Apothecary, but he does not appear in the student records from this time. A 1754 document describes him as:“Thomas Mapples of Thorne, Yorkshire, surgeon and apothecary”. Although the circumstances surrounding its inception are uncertain, this unusual notebook of remedies remains a fascinating insight into medical practices occurring in Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in the early 18th Century.
Contributed by anonymous
