Mrs Thompson's Book for Women : Quack Medicine / Quackery : Wife & Mothers Guide

MRS. THOMPSON’S BOOK FOR WOMEN
Woman’s Guide. Wife’s Guide, Mother’s Guide.

Address: Mrs. Thompson, 2, Hollins Terrace, Cheetham Hill Road, Stalybridge,
Printed by J Tennant & Co. undated, [1901]. New and Revised Edition. Hardback in the original printed boards, 8vo, pp. 111, [4] advertisements.

We could locate only one other copy in Pickering & Chatto online catalogue . . .  their copy is a stapled binding in paper wraps, has a few less pages but 5 adverts at the rear, it also has a Glasgow address for Mrs Thompson. Pickering & Chatto have their copy priced at £485.00

The work contains chapters on such topics as ‘Diseases of menstruation, and their treatment’, Diseases of the womb’, ‘Diseases of the ovaries’, ‘Procreation’, ‘Pregnancy’, ‘Conception’, and ‘Family Contentions,’ including allusions to criminal abortion. These chapters detail such complaints as ‘Mental Impressions during pregnancy affect offspring’ - apparently ‘Widows remarried sometimes bear children resembling their first husband’, ‘Intercourse during pregnancy’ - apparently ‘unnatural’, Nymphomania - ‘Females who suffer from this disease have frequently committed the grossest breaches of chastity, completely losing all control over their sexual feelings’ all of which is put down to self-abuse among other things. The whole contents are an amalgam of half truths stitched together into a quasi medical work.

CONDITION
A very good clean copy throughout. The boards and spine are good with light signs of age. No tearing to the cloth spine and binding firm and square. All contents present and pages clean throughout. No names or writing to the book. Overall a very good copy of this scarce quackery title.

(Desk : Lower Shelf, Middle)