Practical radiography: A Hand-Book of the Applications of the X-Rays

The book Practical radiography: A Hand-Book of the Applications of the X-Rays was the first ever textbook on x-rays anywhere in the world. It was written by H Snowden Ward and first published in May 1896 by Dawbarn & Ward. This is a mere six months after Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of x-rays.

H Snowden Ward (1865-1911) was a British professional photographer and not a physician. Many of the early practitioners of radiology were from photographic or electrical engineering backgrounds. Ward was a founder member of the Roentgen Society, a forerunner of the British Institute of Radiology.

Editions

Following the publication of the first edition in 1896, there were two subsequent editions, which unlike the first iteration, were both written with Adolph W Isenthal (fl.1895-1957), another founder member of the Roentgen Society,  early British radiographer and qualified electrical engineer ^1,8,9. The 2^nd edition came out in 1898 and the 3^rd edition in 1901.

Due to its historic importance, this classic text has been reprinted in more modern times, most recently in 2018 ⁶.