Book Notes

Emma J. Edelstein and Ludwig Edelstein. Asclepius: Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies. 2 vols. Reprint. New introduction by Gary B. Ferngren. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. xxvii + 277 pp. $29.95 (paperbound).

This book is a new edition of the two-volume 1945 study by Emma and Ludwig Edelstein on the legendary Greek physician/healing god, Asclepius. The first volume, by Emma Edelstein, is a collection of literary and epigraphic testimonies (but no archaeological evidence) relating to Asclepius; they are presented in their original Greek or Latin followed by an English translation, making this study more widely accessible to non-Greek and non-Latin scholars. The second volume, by Ludwig Edelstein, provides an interpretation of the literary evidence.

The Edelsteins use the collected evidence to analyze the historical Asclepius and the origin of the myths that developed around him and led to his later deification. They are also concerned with the rise of Asclepian temples as places of healing and investigate the links between religious and rational healing in the ancient world. Finally, they contend that Asclepius was one of the most popular of the ancient gods, and he proved to be the most important challenger to Christ as a healing deity.

The new introduction by Gary Ferngren provides a brief intellectual biography of Ludwig Edelstein and discusses his impact on the study of ancient Greek medicine. It also draws attention to more-recent interpretations of the material presented in this book, which are often at odds with those of Edelstein; however, as Ferngren indicates, this is still a useful study for anyone interested in the life and cult of Asclepius in antiquity.

Gerard L’E. Turner. Scientific Instruments 1500–1900: An Introduction. Originally published as Antique Scientific Instruments, 1980. London: Philip Wilson; Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998. 144 pp. Ill. $40.00.

This beautiful little book contains descriptions and illustrations of some half-dozen types of scientific instruments, and is intended mainly for their collectors. Many of the drawings and photographs are in color. The section on medical instruments occupies only five pages and contains no illustrations, but optical instruments (including microscopes) are treated more extensively, as are weights and measures, which include those used by apothecaries. The book concludes with “Practical Advice” on valuing and conserving antique scientific instruments, along with a bibliography, and a list of museums and collections of antique scientific instruments.

Regula Willi-Hangartner. Zur Geschichte des Apothekenwesens im Kanton Schwyz. Veröffentlichungen der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Pharmazie, no. 14. Bern: SGGP/SSHP, 1996. 237 pp. Ill. Sw. Fr. 38.00 (paperbound).

Based on a doctoral dissertation from Bern University, this book offers a local history of pharmacy in German-speaking and largely Catholic Schwyz, one of the oldest Swiss cantons. The main period covered is from 1798 to the present, beginning with the introduction of medical and pharmaceutical reform under French rule; there is a strong emphasis on the nineteenth century.

An introductory section briefly sketches economic and political conditions before and after 1748, when the Swiss Federation was created. Subsequent sections deal with the history of medical and pharmaceutical legislation and regulation, and of education through apprenticeship, at the private colleges of the first part of the nineteenth century, and later at the university level under the pioneering influence of Friedrich August Flückiger. The development of an independent Swiss pharmacopoia in 1893 and the multitude of foreign (largely German) works governing pharmaceutical dispensing before that date is described. Separate sections are devoted to regulation and control by medical and municipal authorities, and to the evolution of a pharmaceutical monopoly that slowly displaced both dispensing by physicians and quackery/unlicensed production and sale. The professionalization of pharmacy and pharmacists into apothecary associations is discussed separately from the education and supervision of female auxiliary staff. Brief descriptions of historically prominent earlier dispensers of pharmaceuticals—in particular, the numerous and famous monasteries of the region—and later of the independent branch of hospital supply pharmacies, provide additional background.

A detailed section gives an overview of existing and formerly active pharmacies, followed by brief biographical data on a number of pharmacist-owners...