1857 First Edition
PROSTITUTION
By William Acton
KEY DETAILS
Condition: Good
Format: Hardcover, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Published By: [Savill & Edwards for] John Churchill, New Burlington Street, London, 1857
Language: English
Collation: pp. ix, [1 blank], [2] (contents + blank), 189, [1] (printer’s imprint leaf at rear); plus 2pp advertisements and 32pp publisher’s catalogue at rear. Complete. With half-title. Title-page bears Churchill’s caduceus device and the motto “medicina literis.”
Dust Jacket: None, as issued
SKU: BTETM0002725
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
DESCRIPTION
Prostitution
Considered in its moral, social, & sanitary aspects, in London and other large cities. With proposals for the mitigation and prevention of its attendant evils.
A scarce and highly influential Victorian medico-social study of sex work and public health, written by the London surgeon William Acton after formative clinical experience in Paris. Acton’s approach is comparative and policy-minded: he surveys the extent and causes of prostitution, its relationship to sexually transmitted disease, and the differing systems of police supervision and sanitary regulation at home and abroad—before closing with practical proposals aimed at mitigation and prevention. The book sits at the crossroads of social history, medical history, and nineteenth-century governance, and it became a key point of reference in later debates around state intervention and regulation.
CONDITION, COLLATION & COPY NOTES
COLLATION
pp. ix, [1 blank], [2] (contents + blank), 189, [1] (printer’s imprint leaf at rear); plus 2pp advertisements and 32pp publisher’s catalogue at rear. Complete. With half-title. Title-page bears Churchill’s caduceus device and the motto “medicina literis.”
Original publisher’s cloth, blind-stamped boards with gilt spine lettering. Internal hinges strong and firm; text block solid. Externally the spine is worn and split with associated rubbing/edgewear (see photos); typical age-toning and light spotting/foxing in places (notably to preliminary leaves). A complete, honest working/collector copy with the principal defect confined to the exterior spine/joints.
Binding:
Original publisher’s dark cloth, blind-stamped boards, gilt-lettered spine.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
REFERENCES
OCLC/WorldCat: 793314346
SYNOPSIS
*** Scarce first edition of this important work that argued for greater understanding of the lives and conditions of prostitutes and did much to counter the dominant narrative that women of an overly-lustful or sinful nature elected to become prostitutes.
AUTHOR BIO
William Acton (1813–1875) was a British surgeon and medical writer, admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons and known for his work on venereal disease and the politics of sexual health; his writings became widely cited in Victorian public and professional discussion.
1857 First Edition
PROSTITUTION
By William Acton
KEY DETAILS
Condition: Good
Format: Hardcover, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Published By: [Savill & Edwards for] John Churchill, New Burlington Street, London, 1857
Language: English
Collation: pp. ix, [1 blank], [2] (contents + blank), 189, [1] (printer’s imprint leaf at rear); plus 2pp advertisements and 32pp publisher’s catalogue at rear. Complete. With half-title. Title-page bears Churchill’s caduceus device and the motto “medicina literis.”
Dust Jacket: None, as issued
SKU: BTETM0002725
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
DESCRIPTION
Prostitution
Considered in its moral, social, & sanitary aspects, in London and other large cities. With proposals for the mitigation and prevention of its attendant evils.
A scarce and highly influential Victorian medico-social study of sex work and public health, written by the London surgeon William Acton after formative clinical experience in Paris. Acton’s approach is comparative and policy-minded: he surveys the extent and causes of prostitution, its relationship to sexually transmitted disease, and the differing systems of police supervision and sanitary regulation at home and abroad—before closing with practical proposals aimed at mitigation and prevention. The book sits at the crossroads of social history, medical history, and nineteenth-century governance, and it became a key point of reference in later debates around state intervention and regulation.
CONDITION, COLLATION & COPY NOTES
COLLATION
pp. ix, [1 blank], [2] (contents + blank), 189, [1] (printer’s imprint leaf at rear); plus 2pp advertisements and 32pp publisher’s catalogue at rear. Complete. With half-title. Title-page bears Churchill’s caduceus device and the motto “medicina literis.”
Original publisher’s cloth, blind-stamped boards with gilt spine lettering. Internal hinges strong and firm; text block solid. Externally the spine is worn and split with associated rubbing/edgewear (see photos); typical age-toning and light spotting/foxing in places (notably to preliminary leaves). A complete, honest working/collector copy with the principal defect confined to the exterior spine/joints.
Binding:
Original publisher’s dark cloth, blind-stamped boards, gilt-lettered spine.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
REFERENCES
OCLC/WorldCat: 793314346
SYNOPSIS
*** Scarce first edition of this important work that argued for greater understanding of the lives and conditions of prostitutes and did much to counter the dominant narrative that women of an overly-lustful or sinful nature elected to become prostitutes.
AUTHOR BIO
William Acton (1813–1875) was a British surgeon and medical writer, admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons and known for his work on venereal disease and the politics of sexual health; his writings became widely cited in Victorian public and professional discussion.
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