An Interactive Annotated World Bibliography of Printed and Digital Works in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences from Circa 2000 BCE to 2022 by Fielding H. Garrison (1870-1935), Leslie T. Morton (1907-2004), and Jeremy M. Norman (1945- ) Traditionally Known as “Garrison-Morton”

15961 entries, 13944 authors and 1935 subjects. Updated: March 22, 2024

MESMER, Franz Anton

2 entries
  • 4992.1

Mémoire sur la découverte du magnétisme animal.

Geneva & Paris: P. Fr. Didot le jeune, 1779.

Mesmer promoted his system of treatment, based on his confused doctrine of a universal magnetic fluid influencing tides and men alike, with books and great personal showmanship. His treatment became such a popular health care sensation in France that it was as much a social movement as a medical practice. The ancien régime considered the leaders of the animal magnetism movement to be politically dangerous.The attention Mesmer directed toward hypnosis and suggestion in psychiatry led eventually to its scientific investigation by Braid and others. It also led to the more scientific development of suggestion in treatment, which has been termed after him “mesmerism”. Following an enquiry instituted by Louis XVI, Mesmer’s career came to an abrupt end. English translations by G. Frankau, 1948. Digital facsimile of the 1779 edition from the Internet Archive at this link.



Subjects: Mesmerism, PSYCHOTHERAPY › Hypnosis, Quackery
  • 9147

Mesmerism: A translation of the original medical and scientific writings of F. A. Mesmer. Compiled and translated by George J. Bloch.

Los Altos, CA: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1980.

Includes [1.] an English translation, made from the 1971 edition in French, of Mesmer's disseration: Disseratio physico-medica de planetarum influxu (Vienna, 1766). [2.] English translation of Lettre de M. Mesmer...à M. Unzer...sur l'usage médicinal de L'Aimant from L'Antimagnetism...by Paulet (1784) [3.] Discours de M. Mesmer sur le magnétisme from Paulet, L'Antimagnétisme...(1784). [4.] Mémoire sur la découverte du magnétisme animal. (Regarding the translation of [4.] the authors state that their translation is significantly different "especially in the sections relating to medicine."



Subjects: Mesmerism, PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOTHERAPY › Hypnosis