Rare 19th-century work about the medicinal properties of the coca plant, specifically Erythroxylum coca or Amazonian coca, which is native to Peru and Bolivia. The work is an academic (doctoral) thesis and was written by Louis-Gustave Demarle (dates unknown), to receive his doctorate in medicine from the renewed faculté de médecine, of the (Imperial) University of France in Paris. It is only available in 5 libraries worldwide.
In the 19th century, the medicinal use of coca was already well-recognised. Chemist Friedrich Gaedcke (1828-1890) was the first to isolate the cocaine alkaloid in 1855, which he called erythroxylin, from the leaves. Albert Niemann (1834-1861) then developed an improved purification process for this alkaloid in 1859. From then, academic interest in the plant skyrocketed. Demarle's thesis was published just a few years after the accomplishments of Gaedcke and Niemann. It discusses the properties of the plant and gives an overview of the most recent research on the medicinal properties of coca. Interestingly, Demarle mentions experimenting with adding coca extract to wine. A year later, in 1863, Corsican chemist Angelo Mariani (1838-1914) also added coca extract to wine and sold it to the general public. This coca wine, vin Mariani, became an immense commercial success and is seen as the ancestor of Coca-Cola.
The work is uncut, the edges of the first few leaves are slightly frayed and stained, the first few leaves are slightly foxed, the sewing support has broken and the last two leaves are loose, but still present. Otherwise in good condition. WorldCat 557777050 (5 copies); cf. Bauer, I., Travel medicine, coca and cocaine: demystifying and rehabilitating Erythroxylum - a comprehensive review. In: Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines 5, 2019.