A Practical Treatise on the Bath Waters, Tending to Illustrate their Beneficial Effects in Chronic Diseases

Bath physician Joseph Hume Spry (c.1779–1859) was concerned that the popular practice of 'taking the waters' had fallen out of favour. In 1822 he produced this treatise extolling the healing properties of Bath's waters, supported by his own case notes and the writings of other physicians. He claimed that manifold afflictions, ranging from gout to indigestion, could be eased by drinking or bathing in these mineral-rich waters. In addition to offering careful instructions for treating each ailment, Spry's book includes a chapter on Bath's history, detailed descriptions and a sketch of the Roman baths, and a summary of the authors who had previously described the baths, from Solinus in the third century to Spry's contemporaries. Opening the work with a supplicating dedication to one of Bath's wealthy patrons, Charles Herbert Pierrepont, second Earl Manvers, Spry also used the book to appeal for the much-needed restoration of the Roman baths.