This is a catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of rare books dealing with "popular medicine" in early America which is housed at the University of Rochester Medical School library. The books described in the catalogue were written by physicians and other professionals to provide information for the non-medical audience. The books taught human anatomy, hygiene, temperance and diet, how to maintain health, and how to cope with illness especially when no professional help was available. The books promoted a healthy lifestyle for the readers, giving guidance on everything from physical fitness and recreation to the special health needs of women. The collection consists of works dealing with reproduction [from birth control to delivering and caring for a baby], venereal disease, home-nursing, epidemics, and the need for public sex education. These books, covering areas largely ignored by the medical profession, made important contributions to the health of the American public, and the collection is a vital piece of medical history. The collector is Edward C. Atwater, Professor Emeritus of Medicine and the History of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical School. Christopher Hoolihan is History of Medicine Librarian at the University of Rochester Medical School's Edward G. Miner LIbrary.

As urban life and women's roles changed in the 19th century, so did attitudes towards physical health and womanhood. In this case study of health reform in Boston between 1830 and 1900, Martha H. Verbrugge examines three institutions that popularized physiology and exercise among middle-class women: The Ladies' Physiological Institute, Wellesley College, and the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics. Against the backdrop of a national debate about female duties and well-being, this book follows middle-class women as they learned about health and explored the relationship between fitness and femininity. Combining medical and social history, Verbrugge looks at the ordinary women who participated in health reform and analyzes the conflicting messages--both feminist and conservative--projected by the concept of "able-bodied womanhood."