Hypnosis, 19th-century illustration. Hypnotist using the method of Scottish surgeon James Braid (1795-1860). Hypnotism in the 19th century was developed by the work of Braid. Moving away from the earlier occult work by the German physician Franz Mesmer, Braid wrote and published scientific and medical works on hypnotism. This early work by Braid and others, in Manchester, London and Paris, influenced later practitioners, especially in France. Illustration by A. Demarle, published in 'La Vie Normale et la Sante' (Normal Life and Health, Paris, 1881) by Dr Jules Rengade.