"Record of the transactions of the Gloucester Dispensary, a charitable institution established in 1831 to provide free medical care for the city's poor. The Dispensary was funded by annual contributions from subscribers. ... [The] manuscript volume contains records of the first four decades of the Dispensary's existence, from its foundation to its transition from a charity to a provident society. Each meeting included a detailed report of the Dispensary's finances, number of patients treated (with outcomes), and comments on current medical conditions, including prevailing epidemics. Also contained in these records are the names of the Dispensary's governing members, attending physicians and apothecaries. One of the major purposes of the Dispensary was to make vaccination against smallpox available to the poor; vaccinations were to be performed 'by the Surgeon of the day in attendance' (p. [9]). In the Dispensary's 'report for the year ending Mid-summer 1832,' the governing committee was 'glad to report that 130 children of the poor have been vaccinated, and their prejudices in favor of inoculation are declining' (p. [13])."--Antiquarian bookseller's description, 2011.

1 unknown (1 volume)

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