History of Sanitation

Preface When the manuscript for this volume was prepared, there was no decided intention of publishing it in book form. Originally it was intended to appear as a serial in “ Modern Sanitation,” and grew out of a request from the Editor of that magazine to write an article that would trace the advancement made in sanitation from its earliest stages to the present time. Sanitation has been given but little thought by histori- ans, consequently, considerable study and research were necessary to dig from musty tomes and ancient records a story that would prove interesting and instructive. Having succeeded in gathering together much of interest to sani- tarians, and in view of the fact that no other history of sanitation was ever written, the work was deemed worthy of a more permanent place in literature, and it was decided to put it forth in more enduring form. The book is there- fore offered to the public with the fervent hope that those who read its pages will derive as much pleasure as did the author in preparing the manuscript. J. J. Cosgrove Philadelphia, Pennsylvania February 15th, 1909 / 11 ii