This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/28/2023
TRASK, Leonard (1805–61). THE LIFE AND SUFFERINGS OF LEONARD TRASK THE WONDERFUL INVALID. Portland, Maine: Printed by David Tucker, 1858. Blue pictorial wrappers, the upper bearing a wood-engraved portrait of Trask within a floral border. Woodcut illustrations. 48pp. Spine neatly paper taped, minor chipping to wraps. Very good. With: a variant edition in pale orange wrappers, with significant textual changes. Stained and chipped, but good condition.
Trask sustained injuries to his neck and shoulders after being thrown from a horse in 1833. Though he returned to work as a farmhand, his medical problems worsened over time, and as time passed, Trask’s neck bent forward sharply, and his head became permanently pressed against his torso. Eventually, this led Trask to exhibit himself as a curiosity to earn a living. The publication of this “pitch” booklet and its sale by Trask was another way to supplement his income. The work is now considered the first published account of Trask’s condition, ankylosing spondylitis, a severe form of arthritis, the cause of which is unknown.