Abstract
Concerns with the medical consequences of daily life became a staple of the medical commentary on the Regency lifestyles of fashionable society and sedentary professions. In these commentaries, the medical body was determined by what and where it ate, what and how much it sheltered itself, what it used as a dress, and how long and where it slept or stayed in fresh air. From the practitioner’s perspective, this was not a physiological so much as a “lived body.”2 This was also a “dispersed” body that required medical attention beyond that given to the pathologies of guts, flesh, and blood. Rather, the threat to such a body spread across space, seasons, and the everyday realm of life; what went under the skin was a footnote to what took place above and beyond it. Small-scale atmospheric pathologies and environmental change of the personal space presupposed a body affected by both culture and environment. Hygienists and physicians noted that health was a way of life to be sought in a knowledge of how to place and move oneself with regard to outside stress, be it sunlight, miasmas, frost, or graveyard smells. Just as physiology was a mimesis of exteriority, health was an achievement of being somewhere and assimilating the character of something. Its maintenance involved time-consuming routines—travel, recreation, hunting, suburban seclusion—and informed attitudes toward agents beyond the skin-bound body.
Sydenham condemns the giddy practice of laying aside winter garments too early in the spring, and of exposing bodies over-heated to sudden chills. This practice, he affirms, has destroyed more than famine, pestilence, or the sword.
Alexander Sutherland, 17631
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
Drew Leder, The Absent Body (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1990).
Ruth O’Brien, Esther C. Peterson, and Ruby K. Worner, Bibliography on the Relation of Clothing to Health (Washington, DC: U.S. Dept of Agriculture, 1929);
S. Levitt, & J. Tozer, Fabric of Society: A Century of People and their Clothes, 1770–1870 (Carno: Laura Ashley, 1983);
Beverly Lemire, Fashion’s Favourite: The Cotton Trade and the Consumer in Britain, 1660–1800 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991);
Amy de la Haye and Elizabeth Wilson, Defining Dress: Dress as Object Meaning and Identity (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999).
Roy Porter, Doctor of Society: Thomas Beddoes and the Sick Trade in Late Enlightenment England (London: Routledge, 1992), 107.
John Chandler, A Treatise of the Disease Called a Cold (London: A. Millar, 1761), 82.
Robert Hooper, A Compendious Medical Dictionary (London: Murray and Highley, 1798), 226.
John Ball, A Treatise of Fevers (London: H. Cock, 1758), 25,
Samuel Chapman, An Essay on the Venereal Gleet (London: A. M’Culloh, 1751), 4;
John Huxham in An Essay on Fever (London: J. Hinton, 1775), 18,
Philip Stern, Medical Advice to the Consumptive and Asthmatic People of England (12th ed., London: J. Almon, 1771).
Santorio, Medicina Statica: Being the Aphorisms of Sanctorius (London: William Newton, 1728), 330, 329.
John Lining, “Extracts of Two Letters from John Lining, Physician at Charles-Town in South Carolina to James Jurin Giving an Account of Static Experiments Made Several Times a Day upon Himself for One Whole Year,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 42 (1746): 491–509;
Bryan Robinson, A Dissertation on the Food and Discharges of Human Bodies (Dublin: S. Powell, 1747).
F.M. Valadez, “James Keill of Northampton, Physician, Anatomist and Physiologist,” Medical Histor 15 (1971): 317–36.
Peter C. Baldwin, “How Night Air Became Good Air, 1776–1930,” Environmental History 8 (2007): 412–29.
Hugh Smythson, The Compleat Family Physician; or, Universal Medical Repository (London: Harrison, 1785), 198–99.
George Cheyne, An Essay of the True Nature and Due Method of Treating the Gout (London: G. Strahan, 1722), 104;
Timothy Bennet, An Essay on the Gout (London: Richard Ford, 1734), 90;
Hugo Owen, Dissertatio medica, inauguralis, de contagione (Edinburgh, Balfour and Smellie, 1783), 9–10;
Robert Harrington, A Philosophical and Experimental Enquiry into the First and General Principles of Animal and Vegetable life (London, T. Cadell, 1781), 144;
Thomas Apperley, Observations in Physick (London: W. Innys and J. Leake, 1731), 74.
William Alexander, Experimental Essays on the Following Subjects: I. On the External Application of Antiseptics in Putrid Diseases. II. On the Doses and Effects of Medicines. III. On Diuretics and Sudorifics (London: Edward and Charles Duly, 1768), 161 ff.
Patrizia Calefato, The Clothed Body (Berg: Oxford, 2004).
Martin Evans, Dani Cavallaro, and Alexandra Warwick, Fashioning the Frame: Boundaries, Dress, and the Body (Berg: Oxford, 1998).
Anne Buck, Dress in Eighteenth-Century England (London: B.T. Batsford, 1979), 187.
A.P. Wadsworth and J. de L. Mann, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Manchester (Manchester, [s.n.] 1931), 133.
Margaret Spuford, “Fabric for Seventeenth-Century Children and Adolescents’ Clothes,” Textile History 34 (2003): 47–63.
Gilbert White, The Natural History of Selborne (London: T. Bensley, 1789), 189.
Phyllis Deane, “The Output of British Woollen Industry in the Eighteenth Century,” Journal Of Economic History 17 (1957): 207–223;
George Daniel Ramsay, The English Woolen Industry 1500–1750 (Basingstoke: MacMillan, 1982);
Carole Shammas, “The Decline of Textile Prices in England and British America Prior to Industrialization,” The Economic History Review 47 (1994): 483–507;
John Smail, Merchants, Markets, and Manufacture: The English Wool Textile Industry in the Eighteenth Century (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999).
Anne Puetz, “Design Instruction for Artisans in Eighteenth-Century Britain,” Journal of Design History 12 (1999): 217–239;
Beverley Lemire, “Developing Consumerism and the Ready-Made Clothing Trade in Britain, 1750–1800,” Textile History 15 (1984): 21–44.
William Thomson, Prospects and Observations on a Tour in England and Scotland (London: G.G.J. and J. Robinson, 1791), 189.
John Luccock, The Nature and Properties of Wool, Illustrated; with a Description of the English Fleece (Leeds: E. Baines, 1805);
Robert Bakewell, Observations on the Influence of Soil and Climate upon Wool (London: J. Harding, 1808);
Highland Society of Scotland, Report of the Committee to Whom the Subject of Shetland Wool Was Referred (Edinburgh: W. Creech, 1790).
John Anstie, A Letter Addressed to Edward Phelips, Esq. Containing General Observations on the Advantages of Manufacturing the Combing Wool of England (London: Stafford and Davenport, 1788),
Henry Wansey, Wool Encouraged without Exportation (London: T. Cadell, 1791).
John Holroyd Sheffield, Observations on the Objections Made to the Export of Wool from Great Britain to Ireland (London: Debrett, 1800).
John Sinclair, The Statistical Cccount of Scotland (vol. 7, Edinburgh: W Creech 1791–99), 161.
Steven King, “Reclothing the English Poor, 1750–1840,” Textile History 33 (2002): 37–47;
John Styles, “Clothing the North: The Supply of Non-Elite Clothing in the Eighteenth-Century North of England,” Textile History 25 (1994): 139–166;
Peter Jones, “Clothing the Poor in Early Nineteenth-Century England,” Textile History 37 (2006): 17–37.
Edward Strother, in The Family Companion for Health or, the Housekeeper’s Physician (London: John and James Rivington, 1750),
Browne Langrish, The Modern Theory and Practice of Physic (Xondon: L. Hawes, 1761), 265.
David Tyrell and Michael Fielder, Cold Wars: The Fight Against the Common Cold (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
Thomas Reid, Directions for Warm and Cold Sea-Bathing (Dublin: William Gilbert, 1795).
Jonas Hanway, Advice from a Farmer to His Daughter, in a Series of Discourses, Calculated to Promote the Welfare and True Interest of Servants (London, 1770), 349 ff.
John Armstrong, The Art of Preserving Health (Dublin: James Rudd, 1756), 104–5.
Jonas Hanway, Virtue in Humble Life: Containing Reflections on the Rreciprocal Duties of the Wealthy and Indigent (vol. 2, London: Dodsley, 1777), 184.
Nicolas Andry de Bois-Regard, Orthopœdia: or, the Art of Correcting and Preventing Deformities in Children (London: A. Millar, 1743).
John Scot, An Enquiry into the Origin of the Gout. (London: the Author, 1783), 188 ff;
Morwena and John Rendel-Short, The Father of Child Care: Life of William Cadogan (1711–1797) (Bristol: John Wright, 1966);
Reinhard Spree, “Shaping the Child’s Personality: Medical Advice on Child-Rearing from the Late Eighteenth to the Early Twentieth Century in Germany,” Social History of Medicine 5 (1992): 317–35.
Hilary Marland and Margaret Pelling (eds.), The Task of Healing: Medicine, Religion, and Gender in England and the Netherlands, 1450–1800 (Rotterdam: Erasmus Publishing, 1996), 221–251.
Michael Underwood, A Treatise on the Disorders of Childhood, and Management of Infants from the Birth (vol. 3, London: J. Matthews, 1797), 50.
William Cadogan, An Essay upon Nursing and the Management of Children (London: Robert Horsfield, 1769), 9–10.
John Edmonds Stock, An Inaugural Essay on the Effects of Cold upon the Human Body (Philadelphia: Joseph Gales, 1797).
C. Willet and Phillis Cunnington, The History of Underclothes (London: Michael Joseph, 1951), 97 ff.
Daniel Roche, The Culture of Clothing: Dress and Fashion in the Ancien Regime (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 504.
Joannes Hannum Gibbons, Medico. Inauguralis, Quaedam de Vestitu Laneo (Edinburgi: Balfour et Smellie, 1786);
Samuel Hughes, De Vestitu (Edinburgi: Apud Murray et Cochrane, 1795).
Margaret Hunt, “Racism, Imperialism, and the Traveler’s Gaze in Eighteenth-Century England,” The Journal of British Studies 32 (1993): 333–57, 344.
Casey Finch, “Hooked and Unbuttoned Together: Victorian Underwear and Representations of the Female Body,” Victorian Studies 34 (1991): 337–63, 339.
William Rowley, The Rational Practice of Physic (4 vols., London: E. Newberry, 1793), vol. 2, 290;
Lewis Mansey, The Practical Physician; or, Medical Instructor (London: W. Stratford, [1800]), 140.
Gerard Freiherr van Swieten, The Commentaries upon the Aphorisms of Dr. Herman Boerhaave (London: Robert Horsfield, 1744–1773), vol. 17, 519.
William Hillary, Observations on the Changes of the Air and the Concomitant Epidemical Diseases, in the Island of Barbadoes (London, L. Hawes, 1766).
Benjamin Moseley, A Treatise on Tropical Diseases; on Military Operations; and on the Climate of the West-Indies (3rd ed., London: T. Cadell 1792), 190–193.
Hector McLean, An Enquiry into the Nature, and Causes of the Great Mortality among the Troops at St. Domingo (London: Cadell, 1797).
Andrew Harper, The Oeconomy of Health, or, a Medical Essay: Containing New and Familiar Instructions for the Attainment of Health, Happiness, and Longevity [London: C. Stalker], [1785?], 26;
John Grigg, Advice to the Female Sex in General (Bath: S. Hazard, 1789), 64,
Nicholas Culpeper, Culpeper’s English Family Physician (London: W Locke, 1792), vol. 2, 279.
Thomas Hayes, A Serious Address on the Dangerous Consequences of Neglecting Common Coughs and Colds (2nd ed., London: J. Murray), 1786;
Elizabeth Ewing, Dress and Undress: A History of Women’s Underwear (London: Batsford, 1978).
Sir Benjamin Thompson, “Experiments Made to Determine the Positive and Relative Quantities of Moisture Absorbed from the Atmosphere by Various Substances, under Similar Circumstances, Communicated by Charles Blagden,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 77 (1787): 240–245;
Ann M. Little, “Shoot that Rogue for He Hath an Englishman’s Coat On: Cultural Cross-Dressing on the New England Frontier,” The New England Quarterly 74 (2001): 239–73, 242–43.
William Buchan, A Letter to the Patentee, Concerning the Medical Properties of Fleecy Hosiery. (3rd ed., London: Peterborough-House Press, 1790).
Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz wrote in his Picture of England (Dublin: P. Byrne, 1790), 330:
James Parkinson, The Villager’s Friend and Physician: or the Familiar Address on the Preservation of Health (London: James Sammels, 1800), 30.
William Stevenson, General View of the Agriculture of the County of Surrey (London: R. Philips, 1809), 364;
Andrew Swinton, Travels into Norway, Denmark, and Russia, in the Years 1788, 1789, 1790, and 1791 (London, J. Robinson, 1792), 434.
Sir John Sinclair, Essays on Miscellaneous Subjects (London: A. Strahan, 1802), 423.
Dr. Collins, Practical Rules for the Management and Medical Treatment of Negro Slaves, in the Sugar Colonies (London: J. Barfield 1803), 130.
Robert Edington, A Descriptive Plan for Erecting a Penitentiary House, for the Employment of Convicts (London: A. Topping, [1803?]), 29.
John Conolly, The Working-man’s Companion: Cottage Evenings (London: C. Knight, 1831), 20;
Henry Hunt, To the Radical Reformers of England, Ireland, and Scotland (London: W. Molyneux, 1820–22), vol. 1, 20.
Joshua Kirby Trimmer, Further Observations on the Present State of Agriculture, and Condition of the Lower Classes of the People, in the Southern Parts of Ireland: (London: F.C. and J. Rivington, 1812), 80.
Thomas Reid, A Treatise on Military Finance, Containing the Pay and Allowances in Camp, Garrison, and Quarters of the British army. (9th ed., London: T. Egerton, 1805), vol. 2, 21, 33.
Henry Clutterbuck’s “Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Physic,” Lancet 5 (1826): 785–789.
William Frederick Barlow, “On the Effect of Temperature in Causing Reflex Action,” Lancet 40 (1843): 219–221;
Henry Searle, “On the Agency of the Atmosphere on the Production of Disease,” Lancet 24 (1835): 110–114.
Medical Practitioner, “Medical Report,” Newcastle Magazine 3:12 (1824) 610–616;
Andrew Combe, The Principles of Physiology Applied to the Preservation of Health (London: Longman, 1834);
Sir George Lefevre, Thermal Comfort: or Popular Hints for Preservation from Colds, Coughs, and Consumption (Second edition, London: John Churhill, 1844), 9.
S.M. Newton, Health, Art, and Reason: Dress Reforms of the Nineteenth Century (London: J. Murray, 1974);
P.A. Cunningham, Reforming Women’s Fashion, 1850–1920 (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2003).
Christopher Lawrence and Steven Shapin (eds.), Science Incarnate: Historical Embodiments of Natural Knowledge (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998).
Peter Conrad, “Medicalization and Social Control,” Annual Review of Sociology 18 (1992): 209–32.
Copyright information
© 2010 Vladimir Janković
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Janković, V. (2010). Intimate Climates. In: Confronting the Climate. Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230113466_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230113466_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-28934-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-11346-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)