You Must Relax – Edmund Jacobson, M.D. (New York & London, Whittlesey House / McGraw-Hill, 1934)

Description
Bound in a sturdy cobalt blue cloth with gilt lettering, this volume radiates the confidence of early 20th-century science. The spine shows wear, with remnants of a library label, suggesting institutional use — in fact, this copy carries the stamp of Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Cardiología, evidence that it once guided doctors and patients alike. The interior remains clean and strong, the typography crisp, with chapters that march systematically from “Modern Living” to “High Blood-Pressure.”

History & Interest
Edmund Jacobson (1888–1983) was a pioneering American physician and physiologist who developed the progressive muscle relaxation method, still used today in medicine, psychology, and wellness practices. First published in the 1930s, You Must Relax brought clinical methods of stress reduction into the public sphere at a time when “nervous disorders” were commonly diagnosed but poorly understood. McGraw-Hill’s Whittlesey House imprint specialized in psychology and sociology, placing this book firmly within the modernist push toward scientific solutions for everyday life.

Age
Published in 1934, this book is now 91 years old (approaching its centenary).

Obscure Lore
Jacobson’s insistence that muscle relaxation could directly calm the mind was radical at the time — bridging neurology, psychology, and physiology in a way that prefigured today’s mind-body medicine. This very copy, stamped by Mexico’s national cardiology institute, reveals its migration into Latin American medical practice, perhaps used to train physicians or treat patients in the 20th century.

Modern Appeal
With wellness culture now a global industry, this original edition resonates anew. It connects contemporary mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques back to their scientific roots in the 1930s. Collectors and practitioners alike find in Jacobson’s work a foundational text — both a historical artifact and a still-useful guide.