Cheyne, The English Malady, 1733 (first edition)

The English Malady: or, a Treatise of Nervous Diseases of all Kinds, as Spleen, Vapours, Lowness of Spirits, Hypochondriacal, and Hysterical Distempers, &c. In Three Parts. Part I. Of the Nature and Cause of Nervous Distempers. Part II. Of the Cure of Nervous Distempers. Part III. Variety of Cases that illustrate and confirm the Method of Cure. With the Author’s own Case at large. By George Cheyne, M. D. Fellow of the College of Physicians at Edinburg, and F. R. S. London: Printed for G. Strahan in Cornhill, and J. Leake at Bath. 1733. 
 
Original or early full brown leather with gold, red leather title label and raised bands on spine. Original spine laid down over slightly lighter toned later leather respine. Corners bumped and chipped. Additional small scuffs and stains on boards. Hinges reinforced internally. Bookplate without name on front pastedown. “Ex Libris Gul Dobson” (?) penned in an early hand on blank. Interior clean, bright, and tight, with minimal toning, foxing, or smudging. 
 
Ffep, blank, xxxii, 370, 3 leaves of ads, blank, rfep. Includes four title pages (main title plus title for each part). 
 
G-M 4840: George Cheyne (1671 – 1743). Cheyne attributed hypochondria (“Cheyne’s disease”) to the moisture of the air and variability of the weather in the British Isles. Cheyne himself suffered from this disease and the work includes a careful account of his own case history. 
 
Heirs 762: By "the English malady," Cheyne meant hypochondria or what was later known as neurasthenia. In this quite fascinating book, Cheyne describes his own case, supposed to be due to the vagaries of the English weather. He estimated that a third of all his patients were neurotic.