Printed and Manuscript Americana

On the Most Severe Epidemic of the Early United States

Philadelphia: Printed by Parker & Co. for M. Carey, Nov. 26, 1793. First edition. 8vo. 48 pp. Text in English and in French. Full modern green cloth, printed paper spine label; possibly untrimmed; scattered expert repairs along text edges; repair in gutter of first leaf; title-pages slightly toned; scattered spotting. Austin 1359; ESTC W21320 (locating 12 copies); Evans 25854; Sabin 51893; Wolf, Some Unrecorded American Judaica Printed before 1856, 8; Clarkin, Mathew Carey, a Bibliography of His Publications, 1785-1824, 125

The first work published by an American Jewish physician. Nassy, born in Surinam into its leading Sephardi family, was a descendant of David Nassy who had founded the Jewish community there in 1664. In 1792, Nassy settled in Philadelphia where he was the first Jewish physician to practice in that city. The present work was precipitated by an outbreak of yellow fever and Nassy’s subsequent successful diagnosis and treatment. In 1795 he returned to Surinam, where he entertained commercial pursuits and continued to practice as a physician.

Between August 1 and November 9, 1793, over 10,000 people in Philadelphia contracted yellow fever. Of those, about 5,000 people (ten percent of the capital city's population) died, making it one of the most severe epidemics in the history of the United States. The epidemic caused a widespread panic within the city, leading to President Washington, most government officials, and around 20,000 residents, to flee to the safety of the countryside. For those who could not flee, a deep fear and distrust set in, causing friends and family to avoid each other on the street, and to banish family members displaying or suspected of harboring the dreadful disease. Some relief came from the heroic actions of the Free African Society, a nondenominational mutual aid society led by clergymen Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, who provided aid to many of the city's sick and dying white residents. By the fall, the epidemic was reaching catastrophic heights, leading to near anarchy and a collapse of all order. By October, with the onset of cooler weather, the number of cases finally began to drop, and residents began to return by November.

An English language-only edition, in 26 pp., was printed concurrently with this edition (see Evans 25855).

Very rare, according to online records we can locate only three copies at auction since 1968, the last--this very copy--selling in these rooms in 2007.