D.D. Palmer’s Traveling Library is comprised of a collection of the works that Palmer had bound together for travel studies. Some of these texts date back to the 1870s and 1880s. Since Palmer did not discover chiropractic [through seances] until 1895, we could view these books as his foundational philosophical study. By reading what D.D. Palmer was reading, we might get to know him better. We may also understand the seeds that would grow into the philosophy, science, and practice of chiropractic.

As an introduction to the Traveling Library, Simon Senzon wrote several chapters contextualizing the philosophy and developing a cultural outlook through which Palmer may have viewed the world. The latest literature on the 19th century metaphysical culture from which chiropractic emerged is explored. The main emphasis is Palmer’s interest in Spiritualism and magnetic healing and the root ideas that inspired Palmer to develop his more advanced philosophy of Universal Intelligence (UI) and Innate Intelligence(II). One chapter of the book is comprised of a collection of D.D.’s quotes about UI and II. Another chapter explores his earliest writings on magnetic healing. This book is an important link in a more complete understanding of the philosophy of [his] chiropractic [journey].

The "traveling library," the name given it by D.D. himself, contained a large selection of books, pamphlets, and book advertisements from the 1870s and 1880s.  It seems fair to assume that these books were all purchased around that time.  This collection  has a variety of metaphysical topics including magnetism, Oriental philosophy, spiritual evolution, and occult philosophy about the nature of disease.  Certainly the ideas they represented must have been important for him to bind them together and carry them around with him.  Among these is one book co-authored by Theosophic leader Anne Besant.  Another contains a large ad for a book on Theosophy by D.D.'s friend W.J. Colville.