The Memoir of John Butter: Surgeon, Militiaman, Sportsman and Founder of the Plymouth Royal Eye Infirmary

John Butter's Memoir is a first-hand account of nineteenth-century medicine, by a pioneer who founded one of Britain's earliest eye hospitals.

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John Butter was an early nineteenth-century surgeon and physician who founded the Plymouth Royal Eye Infirmary, one of the earliest eye hospitals in Britain. In his Memoir, Butter tells about his long career in medicine, from his early training to his wide-ranging medical practice and his advanced eye treatments. He also describes his life outside medicine: his work with the South Devon Militia (including their involvement with the Luddites), his travels in France and Italy, his love of dogs and his passion for hunting. Most important of all is the light he sheds on medicine in the early nineteenth century. He arguably introduced the stethoscope to Britain and performed a huge variety of treatments, ranging from a mastectomy without anaesthetic to trepanning, blood-letting, cataract removal and other eye procedures. The Memoir is privately-owned and is now published for the first time, with an Introduction which explains the background to Butter's life and career.