Medicine and publishing in early nineteenth century Ireland: production and consumption 1801-1858

Abstract

This thesis is an exploration of the history of the production and consumption of medical literature in Ireland between 1801 and 1858. It seeks to expand our knowledge of the history of medicine in Ireland through an examination of the process and practice of publishing medical information. In addition the thesis provides much information on the history of the print and book trade in Ireland, as it demonstrates that a specialist medical publishing industry developed and flourished in the first half of the nineteenth century. It describes the establishment of an Irish medical periodical press dealing exclusively with Irish interests and the growth of medical book clubs and societies in order to access them. It illustrates the relationship between author, the medical profession, the readership, the bookseller and publisher which was by no means straightforward.

The research identified and pulled together a corpus of hitherto largely unknown medical publications produced by medical practitioners living and working in Ireland between 1801 and 1858. Drawing on this corpus the thesis is a unique exposition of who published them, who sold them, who read them, how readers had access to them and what subjects the authors considered important. It also examines the amount of unregulated medical publications in the medical marketplace and the subsequent rise of peer review and self-regulation amongst the medical profession.

Publication was not the only form of medical communication, nor necessarily the most important, but the thesis concludes that the rise of written medical communication affected the etiquette of medicine and shifted the balance of power in various ways. The need to make a medical living was still a driving force but the customer base had shifted. Patronage of the medical profession itself became increasingly more important as the source from which medical practitioners sought to derive their medical authority and legitimacy.

Date of Award	2010
Original language	English
Sponsors	Department for Employment and Learning
Supervisor	Greta Jones (Supervisor) & Allan Blackstock (Supervisor)