The classic text from 1922 in an abridged form (botanicals only), by letter or as a single book…acrobat files only, as well as all 24 black-and-white photographs from the original edition.
Plant monographs extracted from The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D. (1922) Bookmarked Acrobat (.pdf) files only.
NOTE: This is one of several important Eclectic medical publications dating from the 1920s that represented the last, articulate, but in the end, futile attempt to stem the tide of Standard Practice Medicine, the antithesis of the model of the rural primary care “vitalist” physician that was the basis for the Eclectic Curriculum.
Founded during the 1840s as part of an immense populist anti-medical movement in North America, the American School of Medicine (“Eclectics” as they came to be known) trained physicians in a dozen or so privately funded medical schools, principally located in the midwest. The movement “peaked” in the 1880s and 1890s, and by WWI, states and provinces were adopting curriculum requirements that followed those articulated by the AMA, which effectively forced the Eclectic Medical Schools to either adopt the new model or fold…the last one closed in Cincinnati in 1939.
I have retained the original pharmaceutical latin names (Cimicifuga racemosa or Black Cohosh was treated as “Macrotys”, as an example), but otherwise I have updated botanical names within the monographs. I have also translated the apothecary measurements into more understandable ones (although I have retained “drachm”). Remember, a drachm is 1/8 of an ounce, a fluidrachm 1/8 of a fluidounce. All botanical remedies are included (except Ergot), as well as all substances normally used in manufacturing herb-based products. I have excluded most alkaloids, salts, chemicals, injected compounds and other products well-outside of the “herb” realm.
Complete Felter’s Materia Medica (1M, 480 pages)
(Complete text, including definitions, comparative doses and facsimile front page)
A herbs (116K – 49 pages)
ABIES (Tsuga canadensis), ABSINTHIUM (Artemisia absinthium), ACACIA, ACHILLEA, ACONITUM, ACTÆA ALBA, ADONIS VERNALIS, ÆSCULUS GLABRA, AGAR, AGARICUS (Amanita muscaria), AGRIMONIA EUPATORIA, ALETRIS FARINOSA, ALLIUM CEPA, ALLIUM SATIVUM, ALNUS SERRULATA, ALOE, ALTHÆA OFFICINALIS, AMYGDALUS PERSICA, AMYLUM, ANEMOPSIS CALIFORNICA, ANISUM (Pimpinella anisum), ANTHEMIS NOBILIS, APOCYNUM CANNABINUM, AQUA ROSÆ, ARALIA HISPIDA, ARALIA RACEMOSA, ARISÆMA TRIPHYLLUM, ARNICA MONTANA, ASAFTIDA (Ferula fetida), ASARUM CANDENSE, ASCLEPIAS INCARNATA, ASCLEPIAS SYRIACA, ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA, ASPIDIUM, ASPIDOSPERMA, AURANTII AMARI CORTEX, AURANTII DULCIS CORTEX, AVENA SATIVA
B herbs (52K – 20 pages)
BALSAMUM PERUVIANUM, BAPTISIA, BELLADONNA (Atropa belladonna), BERBERIS (Mahonia) AQUIFOLIUM, BERBERIS VULGARIS, BOLETUS, BRYONIA, BUCHU (Barosma)
C herbs (160K – 69 pages)
CACTUS (Selenicereus spp.), CAFFEA, CALAMUS, CALENDULA, CALUMBA (Jateorhiza palmata), CAMBOGIA, CAMPHORA, CANNABIS, CANTHARIS, CAPSELLA, CAPSICUM, CARBO LIGNI, CARDAMOMI SEMEN, CARTHAMUS, CARUM, CARYOPHYLLUS, CASCARA SAGRADA, CASSIA MARILANDICA, CASTANEA, CATALPA, CATARIA, CAULOPHYLLUM, CEANOTHUS, CERA ALBA, CERA FLAVA, CHELIDONIUM, CHELONE, CHENOPODIUM, CHIONANTHUS, CHIMAPHILA, CINCHONA, CINNAMOMUM, COCA, COCCULUS, COLCHICUM, COLLINSONIA, COLOCYNTHIS, CONDURANGO, CONIUM, CONVALLARIA, CORALLORHIZA, COPAIBA, COPTIS, CORIANDRUM, CORNUS, CORYDALIS, CRATAEGUS, CROCUS, CUBEBA, CURCUMA, CUSSO, CYPRIPEDIUM,
D herbs (52K – 21 pages)
DIGITALIS, DIOSCOREA, DRACONTIUM (Symplocarpus), DROSERA, DUBOISINA, DULCAMARA. (Solanum dulcamara),
E herbs (68K – 26 pages)
ECHINACEA, ELATERIUM, EPIGÆA, EPILOBIUM, EQUISETUM, ERECHTITES, ERIGERON, ERIODICTYON, ERYNGIUM, EUCALYPTUS, EUONYMUS, EUPATORIUM PERFOLIATUM, EUPATORIUM PURPUREUM, EUPHORBIA COROLLATA, EUPHORBIA HYPERICIFOLIA, EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA, EUPHORBIA PILULIFERA, EUPHRASIA
F herbs (24K – 7 pages)
FABIANA, FARINA TRITICI, FEL BOVIS, FICUS, FOENICULUM, FRANCISCEA, FRANGULA (Rhamnus frangula), FRANKENIA, FRASERA, FRAXINUS, FUCUS
G herbs (68K – 28 pages)
GALIUM, GALLA, GAMBIR, GAULTHERIA, GELATINUM, GELSEMIUM, GENTIANA, GERANIUM, GLUCOSUM, GLYCERINUM, GLYCYRRHIZA, GOSSYPIUM, GRANATUM, GRINDELIA, GUAIACUM, GUARANA, GYNOCARDIA
H herbs (56K – 22 pages)
HAEMATOXYLON, HAMAMELIS, HEDEOMA, HELLEBORUS, HELONIAS, HEPATICA, HIPPOCASTANUM (Aesculus Hippocastanum), HORDEUM, HUMULUS, HYDRANGEA, HYDRASTIS, HYOSCYAMUS, HYPERICUM,
I herbs (32K – 11 pages)
IGNATIA, IMPATIENS, INULA, IPECACUANHA (Cephaelis Ipecacuanha), IRIS
J-K herbs (28K – 9 pages)
JACARANDA, JALAPA (Ipomea jalapa), JEFFERSONIA, JUGLANS CINEREA, JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS, KALMIA, KAMALA (Mallotus philippiensis), KINO, KOLA (Cola spp.), KRAMERIA
L herbs (64K – 25 pages)
LACTUCARIUM, LAPPA (Arctium lappa), LAVANDULA, LEONURUS, LEPTANDRA (Veronicastrum virginicum), LEUCANTHEMUM, LIATRIS, LIGUSTRUM, LILIUM, LIMON, LINUM, LIQUIDAMBAR, LOBELIA, LUPULINUM, LYCOPODIUM, LYCOPUS
M herbs (56K – 22 pages)
MACROTYS (Cimicifuga racemosa), MANGIFERA, MANNA, MARRUBIUM, MATICO, MATRICARIA, MEL, MELILOTUS, MENISPERMUM, MENTHA PIPERITA, MENTHA VIRIDIS, MENTHOL, MITCHELLA, MONARDA, MYRICA, MYRISTICA, MYRRHA (Commiphora spp.)
N-O herbs (84K – 36 pages)
NUX VOMICA, OENANTHE, OENOTHERA, OLEUM CADINUM, OLEUM CAJUPUTI, OLEUM CHENOPODII, OLEUM OLIVAE, OLEUM RICINI, OLEUM SANTALI, OLEUM TEREBINTHINAE, OLEUM TEREBINTHINAE RECTIFICATUM, OLEUM THEOBROMATIS, OLEUM TIGLII, OPIUM, OXYDENDRON
P herbs (108K – 46 pages)
PANAX, PAREIRA (Chondodendron), PASSIFLORA, PENTHORUM, PEPO (Cucurbita pepo), PETROSELINUM, PHYSOSTIGMA, PHYTOLACCA, PILOCARPUS, PIMENTA, PIPER NIGRUM, PIPER METHYSTICUM, PISCIDIA, PIX LIQUIDA, PLANTAGO, PODOPHYLLUM, POLYMNIA, POPULUS TREMULOIDES, PRINOS, PRUNUS VIRGINIANA, PTELEA, PULSATILLA, PYROLA
Q-R herbs (56K – 22 pages)
QUASSIA, QUERCUS, RESINA, RHAMNUS CALIFORNICA, RHEUM, RHUS TOXICODENDRON, RHUS AROMATICA, RHUS GLABRA, RUBUS, RUBUS IDAEUS, RUMEX, RUTA
S herbs (96K – 39 pages)
SALIX NIGRA, SALVIA, SAMBUCUS, SANGUINARIA, SAPO, SAPO MOLLIS, SARSAPARILLA, SASSAFRAS, SCILLA, SCOPARIUS, SCUTELLARIA, SENECIO, SENEGA, SENNA, SERENOA, SERPENTARIA (Aristolochia serpentaria), SINAPIS ALBA, SINAPIS NIGRA, SOLANUM CAROLINENSE, SPIGELIA, SPONGIA USTA, STAPHISAGRIA, STICTA, STILLINGIA, STRAMONIUM (Datura spp.), STROPHANTHUS, SUMBUL (Ferula sumbul),
T-U herbs (32K – 11 pages)
TANACETUM, TARAXACUM, THUJA, TRIFOLIUM, TRITICUM (Agropyron repens), TUSSILAGO, ULMUS, URTICA, USTILAGO, UVA URSI
V-Z herbs (56K – 22 pages)
VALERIANA, VANILLA, VERATRINA, VERATRUM VIRIDE, VERATRUM ALBUM, VERBASCUM, VERBENA, VIBURNUM OPULUS, VIBURNUM PRUNIFOLIUM, VISCUM, XANTHIUM, XANTHIUM STRUMARIUM, XANTHOXYLUM, ZEA, ZINGIBER
MATERIA MEDICA ILLUSTRATIONS – Black and white photographs from the 1922 edition
