The Experienced Botanist – J. W. Cooper – 1840 | Early American Herbal Medicine

The Experienced Botanist or Indian Physician by J. W. Cooper, printed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by John Bear in 1840, is a rare example of early American alternative medicine. Cooper touted the benefits of herbal medication, aligning closely with the Thomsonian and Eclectic movements, both of which sought to displace conventional academic medicine in favor of botanical remedies. The volume presents itself as both manual and manifesto, with its Preface leveling sharp criticism against elite physicians and imported pharmaceuticals, and instead urging readers to utilize the practical knowledge of plant medicine. While the title invokes Indigenous medical authority, the text reflects a 19th-century trend of appropriating Native American knowledge for market credibility; Cooper’s advice appears more embedded in European folk herbalism than Indigenous knowledge. Still, the book includes an extensive materia medica with more than eighty entries describing North American flora such as bloodroot, lobelia, and pleurisy root. Numerous certificates of cures from Pennsylvanians attest to the efficacy of Cooper’s remedies. Oddly, while the text disavows established medical practice, Cooper appends an article by James Hamilton from the Royal College of Physicians describing the dangers of ingesting mercury, a common medical prescription of the period.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Experienced Botanist or Indian Physician, Being a New System of Practice, Founded on Botany
• Author: J. W. Cooper
• Contributor: James Hamilton, M.D.
• Publisher: Lancaster, Pennsylvania: John Bear
• Edition: 1840
• Binding: Full leather
• Format: Sextodecimo (16mo), single volume
• Size: ~ 6 x 3.75 in (15.25 x 9.5 cm)
• Collation: xxi, [2], 24-303, [1]
• Contents Include:
  • Preface with critique of the medical establishment
  • Materia Medica section with 80+ plant remedies
  • Certificates of cures from Pennsylvania residents
  • Practical therapeutic guidance rooted in herbal medicine
• Provenance:
  • Handwritten inscription to Jno. L. Atlee Jr. from [T. G. Carlisle Shulz]; John Light Atlee Jr. was a Lancaster physician and son of John Light Atlee, an American physician and surgeon who helped organize the American Medical Association, also serving as its president
  • Handwritten birth records for Abraham Dickel (1842) and Isaac Dickel (1844), the latter a Civil War corporal in Pennsylvania’s 195th Volunteer Infantry, Company E.

Condition:

Good condition. Full leather binding shows signs of age-related wear, with moderate rubbing to the edges and corners. The hinges are firm and text block secure. Pages show expected toning and scattered foxing typical for mid-19th century imprints, yet the text remains complete and legible.

Why Collect This?

• Scarce antebellum critique of conventional medicine
• Pennsylvania herbal traditions
• Early American alternative medicine
• Provenance linked to Lancaster medical and Civil War history

Item Number: #31137