De la nature des rayons X; reflexions sur la cause de leurs effets pathologiques et Photographiques

Paris: A. Maloine, 1897. 1st Edition. SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF AN EARLY WORK ON X-RAYS BY 19th MEDICAL PHOTOGRAPHER, FÉLIX MÉHEUX. SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY IN ORIGINAL WRAPS.

Félix Méheux (1838-1908) was a medical photographer and an outstanding illustrator and colorist at the Hôpital Saint-Louis from 1884 to 1904. This pamphlet is affectionately inscribed to Professor Albert Fournier (1832-1914), First Professor of Cutaneous and Syphilitic Diseases at the same hospital. Méheux's work remains well-respected to this day.

As said, this work is rare. While other Méheux publications and photos appear in the special collections of a number of important libraries throughout the world, only four copies of this work exist worldwide.

Méheux's publication came shortly after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen's discover of X-rays in late 1895. Röntgen's discovery electrified both the scientific community and the public at large. Though arguable, many consider Röntgen's discovery "the most globally astonishing scientific event prior to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945" ("On A New Kind Of Rays" (Über eine neue Art von Strahlen). CONDITION & DETAILS: Paris: A. Maloine. 8vo. [9 x 6 inches; 228 x 153mm]. [1], 23, [1]. Original grey paper wraps with minor rubbing at the edges and a small closed tear at the foot of the wraps' fold. Tiny chip at the head of the front flyleaf; equally small closed tear at the margin of the title page. Bright and clean inside and out. Very good condition.