1842 Report to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, From the Poor Law Commissioners, on an Inquiry into the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain

Description

First Edition, Folding Plates, Illustrated, Publishers' Original Binding, Uncommon

The first edition.

Bound in the publisher's original cloth.

Illustrated with three folding lithograph plates and twenty-one additional illustrations. Collated, complete.

Written by Sir Edwin Chadwick, an English social reformer, noted for his strong impact improving public health and urban sanitation through law reforms in the nineteenth century.

This important inquiry was set in motion following a serious typhus outbreak in 1838, with Chadwick convincing the Poor Law Board that a thorough investigation was required.

This was the first time in British history that doctors were employed to investigate potential causes of ill health due to conditions, with data gathered from surveyors, builders, prison governors, police officers, inspectors and Poor Law Unions. The report called for many crucial improvements, advocating for measures such as clean water provision, improved drainage and adequate waste removal. 

This groundbreaking report marks the first plea for public health improvements in Great Britain, paving the way for better living conditions.