The recognition of allergic states came
early in the history of recorded medicine,
as evidenced by Hippocrates, Lucretius,
Galen, and the Babylonian Talmud. Yet
the foundation of investigative work rests
in the monumental paper of an Englishman,
Charles Harrison Blackley, "Experimental
Researches on the Causes and Nature of
Catarrhus æstivus (Hay-Fever or Hay-Asthma),"
1873. These important observations
were shelved for 30 years, until
Dunbar, in 1905, corroborated Blackley's
findings.
When Bostock wrote his classical description
of hay fever, in 1819, he stated
his belief that in his own case it was not
caused by the effluvium of grass or hay.
This he reaffirmed in 1828 after further
study for a second publication. Elliotson,
in 1830, disagreed and stated, "I do not
believe it depends upon any other part of
the grass than the flower." He also described
the hay fever case of a lady: ". . . that on
handling the