The alchemy of medicine and print

The Edward Worth Library, Dublin

Danielle Westerhof, editor

This volume arises from a conference held in November 2008 at the Royal Society in London to mark the 275th anniversary of the establishment of the Edward Worth Library in Dr Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin. Many contributions reflect on the alchemical interaction of the sciences, in particular natural philosophy and medicine, and the printed book in the 16th and 17th centuries, while other essays elucidate the historical, intellectual and social contexts in which this ‘alchemy’ occurred. All essays take their cue from Edward Worth himself – a well established, if still enigmatic, Dublin physician and fellow of the Royal Society who died in 1733 – or from the collection of books which he brought together and generously donated to a newly established hospital. The resulting volume produces a fascinating insight into the social and intellectual world of Edward Worth.

Contributors: Charles Benson (TCD), Elizabethanne Boran (Edward Worth Library), Howard Caygill (Goldsmith’s College, University of London), Davis Coakley (TCD/St James Hospital), Michael Hunter (Birkbeck College, University of London), Ilham Ibnou-Zahir (Université Hassan II Mohammedia), Magdalena Kozluk (University of Lodz), Sachiko Kusukawa (Trinity College, Cambridge), Lisa Lambert (TCD), Michael Lyons (Edward Worth Library), Bill Mc Cormack (Edward Worth Library), Jean-Paul Pittion (Université de Tours), Danielle Westerhof (University of Leicester).

Danielle Westerhof is honorary visiting fellow at the school of historical studies, University of Leicester.