1885-1916 Physician Ledgers / Doctor Account Books (7) with JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER & William Dean Howells Patient Entries, Maine Provenance

This is a nice condition collection of seven antique doctor's account books / physician's ledgers belonging to Dr. J.L.M. Willis, M.D. who practiced on "The Old Post Road" in Eliot, Maine ("Eliot's first county doctor"). The account books range in date from 1885 to 1916. Hardbound with cloth covers, leather spines, leather corners or outer cover edges, and gilt lettering and accents. Four ledgers have raised bands on the spine. Each account book contains an alphabetical list of patients at the front, followed by details of patient visits by date (see below for interesting examples of visits). The handwriting throughout the account books is highly legible. The earliest ledger (1882 to 1895) contains an entry for a visit by the poet JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER (with "The Poet ~" written next to his name); Whittier paid $2.50, though his reason for the visit was not recorded. Whittier travelled through York County, Maine often (the county in which Dr. Willis practiced) en route to Portland, Maine, where he was a frequent visitor; his famous poem "Maud Muller" is based on a young country woman he saw while travelling through York County. Three of the ledgers contain entries for novelist WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS (author of "The Rise of Silas Lapham" and editor of "The Atlantic Monthly"); Howells built a house in Kittery, Maine in 1870 and summered there over the following 20 years. A remarkable collection - scarce in this quantity and in this condition, not to mention the references to renowned poet Whittier and noted literary figure Howells.

Here are some interesting patient visit "Remarks": amputation of six frozen toes; scarlet fever; child choked; miscarriage; frozen hand; whooping cough; hair tonic; pneumonia; shot himself; alcohol; cutting ice; ointment; shingles; child pneumonia; tooth; rheumatic fever; kidney colic; baby prolapse; ruby pills; removal cataract; asphyxiation; diuretic pills; catarrh; dislocated arm; typhoid fever; paralysis; self-medication; knee aspirator; measles; abscess; died suddenly; vaccination; broken arm; rheumatism; tooth; eye pills; cut hand; dislocated shoulder; child medication; accident – spine; kidney medication; cut foot – stitches; eye and medication; sore throat; mother's cough; wife accident; self-accident; cough medication; colic – face; wife convulsions all night; boys face; croup and bronco-pneumonia; phosphate soda; night call; bitters; heart; ulcer stomach; cystitis; conjugation of lungs; breast; collar bone; boy cut; carbuncle; surgical operation; dead beat; broken leg – plaster of Paris; pleurisy; ammonia; ear; prisoner – medical; dead on Raitt Hill (Maine); poison medication...and much more.

The ledgers are labeled "A" through "G" and are oversized / hefty (nearly 40 pounds collectively). Here are the approximate dates and measurements by volume: A = 1882-1885, 13 7/8" tall x 8 3/4" wide. B = 1896-1900, 9 1/2" tall x 12 1/2" wide. C = 1900-1903, 9 1/2" tall x 12 1/2" wide. D = 1904-1906, 9 5/8" tall x 12 5/8" wide. E = 1906-1906, 9 5/8" tall x 12 3/4" wide. F = 1910-1911, 9 3/8" tall x 12 1/2" wide. G = 1912-1916, 9 3/8" tall x 12 3/4" wide.

Each ledger is chock full of entries (four are 100% full) - here is the ratio of pages written in to number of pages in the ledger: A = 268/301. B = 201/201. C = 202/202. D = 100/100. E = 199/199. F = 103/110. G = 200/207.

Condition:
Overall the collection is in Very Good+ condition. All ledgers are tightly bound with no cracks and no loose pages. All covers are firmly attached. A few covers have a small area where the top cloth layer has torn. The books have been nicely preserved with only minimal wear - here are notable issues found: Ledger "A" - worn cover corners; 3 small tears at the top & bottom edges of the spine. Ledger "B" - wear to 2 cover corners; light wear to the left/right edges at the top of the spine; 2 pages removed at the back; note sheet affixed to front end paper. Ledger "C" - 3" split at top-right corner of spine & 1" split at bottom-right corner of spine (though the front cover remains firmly in place); note sheet affixed to front end paper. Ledger "D" - note sheet affixed to front end paper. Ledger "E" - 5 note sheets pinned through front end paper with a small nail. Ledger "F" - note sheet affixed to front end paper. Ledger "G" tanning to pages 100/101 from a slip of paper left between them.