The rare antiquarian medical book "The Whole Works of that Excellent Practical Physician Dr Thomas Sydenham. Wherein not only the history and cures of acute diseases are treated of, after a new and accurate method; but also the shortest and safest way of curing most chronical diseases", Richard Wellington, at the Lute, and Edward Castle, at the Angel and Crown, in St Paul's Yard, 1696, 592 pp, 8vo, calf with raised bands.
 
This book is an important cornerstone in the history of English medicine. It represents the first complete English translation of Sydenham’s collected works, and copies are highly sought by collectors of early medical literature.
 
Thomas Sydenham (1624–1689) is known as the “English Hippocrates” and the father of English clinical medicine. His writings helped shift medicine away from theory and dogma to observation-based, methodical clinical practice and the careful description of diseases.​ Sydenham’s methodologies greatly influenced generations of doctors, promoting the careful recording of symptoms, natural history of illnesses, and rational therapeutics instead of speculative humoral theory.
 
This 1696 edition—translated by John Pechey—is notable as the first full English version, making his observations and philosophies accessible to English-speaking medical audiences, further extending his already significant legacy.​ Sydenham's influence was so great that he was referenced by medical reformers throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and his works remain foundational texts in medical history courses today.​
 
The book is the first English complete edition complete and in unrestored and in it's period binding. It is valued for both its content and historic printed form, as well as for association with the “Sydenham Society” and 19th-century medical reforms that continued to celebrate his contributions.​ Institutional libraries and major collectors routinely list it in their core rare medical holdings.
 
The title measures 19.7 x 12.3 x 4.5cm (7.76" x 4.84" x 1.77").