George III, Manuscript Appointment Signed for Physician John M. Nooth

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• Lot Description

  Manuscript document issued under the command of King George III appointing J[ohn] Mervin Nooth as Physician to our Forces employed or to be employed in North America, 13.75 x 9.5 in., mounted to a cardboard backing. June 25, 1788. Signed upper left George R, with paper GR seal in left margin.

  John Mervin Nooth (1737-1828) was born in England, and studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated MD in 1766, having studied rickets for his thesis. His father was an apothecary, and the family seems to have been well-to-do. After graduation he spent a year touring the Continent, and apparently became interested in research. He was elected to the Royal Society of London in 1774, having been nominated by Benjamin Franklin (among others). The following year he published an article on "The description of an apparatus for impregnating water with fixed air," the 18th century term for carbon dioxide. Part of his goal was to replicate the sparkling waters common to many spas of the day, and thought to be therapeutic. This would make the water affordable to those who could not make a visit to the spa. While it did not necessarily improve the health of Europe and America, it did herald the birth of the carbonated beverage industry.

  When war broke out in North America, Nooth became physician extraordinary and purveyor in the British Army. He came to New York, and in 1779 became superintendent general of hospitals for British forces.

  He returned to England with the last British forces, and went on half pay early in 1784. A couple months later he invented a device for giving artificial respiration, among a number of medical inventions. He returned to full pay in 1788 with this appointment, and went to Quebec as superintendent general of hospitals. He was an excellent choice for military medicine, since one of his interests was the importation of contagious diseases. He was also interested in native plants and their uses, clearly with a goal toward therapeutic applications, and also examined weather, natural features (mineral springs) and even variations in the position of the magnetic pole.

  Nooth also had interests in socioeconomic factors, seeing the resources in Canada not being utilized to their maximum. He settled in Quebec and took an interest in her prosperity, continuing even after illness required his return to England in 1799. He recovered and continued working for nearly three more decades.

  Reference: Charles G. Roland, “NOOTH, JOHN MERVIN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003, May 2, 2017.

  Condition

  Otherwise very good, with some light soiling, some parts a bit faded. Small holes along both edges as if stitched into a bound volume. Charles G. Roland, “NOOTH, JOHN MERVIN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed May 2, 2017, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/nooth_john_mervin_6E.html.
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