RANDOLPH (George): - An Enquiry into the Medicinal Virtues of Bristol-Water: and the Indication of Cure which it answers.

London: Printed for R. Baldwin..., 1750. 8vo, 197 x 111 mms., pp. [viii], 176, recently rebound in quarter blue morocco, blue boards, red leather label on spine; lacks final advert leaf, but a very good copy. The fascination for, and belief in, the curative powers of foul-tasting liquids sometimes seems to be a genetic quirk in mankind. Tar water and its cousins were popular in medieval times, and, of course, in the 18th century Bishop George Berkeley extolled its virtues in Siris (1744). The first edition of Randolph's book was published the following year. Randolph's book begins with a historical survey of those who have noticed the medicinal properties of a well of hot water near Bristol. The secon part of the volume is devoted to the ills which are cured by Bristol-water: hectick fever ["immoderate discharges"], hemorrhages, diabetes, ulcers, etc. Similar quack cures are still to be found on the world wide web.

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