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Charles G. Roland, MD

JAMA. 1970;212(1):133-135.

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Although bibliomania has existed as long as there have been books, the condition had no generally accepted name until about a century and a half ago. Then a physician in Manchester, England, published a poem entitled "Bibliomania" (reprint, Philadelphia, 1866), dedicating it to a bibliomaniac friend. John Ferriar was the physician, Richard Heber the friend.

John Ferriar (1761-1815) studied medicine at Edinburgh, graduating in 1781. Although he conducted a busy medical practice for the remainder of his life, he also achieved a contemporary reputation based in large part upon his studies of Massinger, the dramatist, and Lawrence Sterne. Ferriar also published poetry, a play, lengthy autobiographical reflections, and essays on a variety of medical, literary, and philosophical topics.

Richard Heber (1773-1833), an Oxonian of independent wealth, early in life developed an unquenchable interest in books. So great was his aquisitive spirit that when he died, he left a total of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of the Medical Library and of Publications, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Section of Publications, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn 55901.

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