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Emily Cahill's Collections

An Abridgment of the Practice of Midwifery: and a set of anatomical tables with explanations.

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W. Smellie, M.D.'s An Abridgement of the Practice of Midwifery and a Set of Anatomical Tables is a well-known instructive midwifery text from 1786. It is filled with labeled plates which are accompanied by the explanatory tables.

The disembodied spread necessitated by gynecology, as seen here in Smellie's An Abridgement of the Practice of Midwifery and a Set of Anatomical Tables, is reminiscent of pornographic poses, as noted by scholar Benjamin A. Rifkin.

Originally published in London, there is a slight variance in the spelling of this American title. Printed, engraved, and sold by J. Norman in by the Boston-Stone, one can imagine this being a common reference text on the desk of early obstetrecians.

An Abridgment of the Practice of Midwifery: and a set of anatomical tables with explanations.