A Dictionary of Malayan Medicine.
Edited and completed by H.W. Thomson. With a Foreword by Sir Malcolm Watson. London Oxford University Press 1939
First edition, 8vo, pp.xvi, 259, 2 plates. A very good copy in lightly soiled original cloth. Corners and spine slightly bumped.
John Desmond Gimlette (1867-1934) was encouraged to produce this work by his good friend Walter Skeat, author of Malay Magic and inspiration to Rudyard Kipling, as a more comprehensive and user-friendly English-Malaysian medical dictionary than the first attempt published by Dr. P.N. Gerrard in 1905. Gimlette died an untimely death in 1934 having completed only two-thirds of this dictionary and it was completed, according to his wishes, by H.W. Thomson. Gimlette was an active doctor who lived for years in the Malaysian Peninsula and was co-discoverer of Derris elliptica as an insecticide. He was described as "one of God's own" because of his kindness and friendliness alongside his expertise. He also had a deep personal interest in indigenous medical practices and authored Malay Poisons and Charm Cures. The plates show the front and back of a skeleton with accompanying English and Malay terms.