The Surgical Operations on President Cleveland in 1893

Title: The Surgical Operations on President Cleveland in 1893, Together with Six Additional Papers of Reminiscences
Author: William W. Keen
Publisher: J.B. Lippincott Co. (Philadelphia, 1928)

In July of 1893, President Grover Cleveland underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth found in his upper jaw. In the interest of maintaining Cleveland's strong public face, no one was informed, not even the Vice President. When the press became suspicious, they were told the President was recovering from a toothache. The operation was performed on a private yacht in Long Island.

The procedure was successful, and Cleveland resumed his duties with the public none the wiser. The full story regarding his ordeal was never fully disclosed until 1917, when Dr. William Keen, one of the attending physicians, laid out the truth in a Saturday Evening Post article. After having done so, he penned this book as more complete reference to those events. Keen is also reknowned for having been the world's first brain surgeon.

This particular copy, though a later edition, is a scarce piece of American lore. To top it off, it is actually signed and inscribed by Keen himself.

251 pages. Bound in red cloth with black and white paper compartments on the front and side. Spine mildly faded, spine ends gently bumped. Compartments show some smudging. The joints and hinges are strong, and the textblock is sturdy. Pages are clean and intact. A long newspaper clipping from 1921 about the author pasted to the top of page 223; causing some offsetting on the opposite page. Overall good condition.

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