Edward Jenner papers, 1800-1822 and undated

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
Jenner, Edward, 1749-1823 and History of Medicine Collection (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library)
Abstract:
The collection features 63 letters, dated 1800-1822 and undated. Topics include progress of various vaccination programs, at home and abroad, as well as his recognition in Parliament and the Royal Jennerian Society; impact of illness in local families; preparations for war, which he opposes; an inscription for his brother's tombstone; gifts and food sent to family and friends; illness among his family members; comments on various printing jobs; settling of accounts, lending money, and dealing with unfavorable tenants and farm managers; fossil collecting; requests for positions on behalf of others and for the return a prisoner of war who is a relation; medical cases and consultations; and his appointment as physician extraordinary to George IV. Included are letters to Dr. [Thomas] Pruen; Charles Henry Parry; James Smith (1771-1841); Dr. S.B. LaBatt; and to Nigel Kingscote. Many items are copies of family letters, they were probably made during the life of Jenner's nephew, William Davies, and contain annotations by him. In addition to the letters, there are a few miscellaneous papers, including poems, a prescription and a recipe, and a receipt for the Royal Jennerian Society. There are four holograph prescriptions and two recipes (1807-1821), four with initials "E.J.," mounted and bound in a volume with an engraved portrait of Jenner. Collection also includes a manuscript diary (188 pages) maintained by Jenner in 1811 and the Fall of 1812, primarily containing notes on his patients and their treatments for various illnesses, from syphilis to gout to heart ailments (including prescriptions) along with records of many vaccinations. There is a note of receipt of a letter (1812 Sept 12) from Dr. Alex Crichton stating that vaccination flourished throughout the Russian Empire. Also contains reports on the dissection of organs from a cow, horse, and sheep, along with two sets of notations regarding diabetes, and one on "pulmonary affections." There are occasional notes with weather observations, recipes, lists of letters written, patient charges or payments, and a few comments on his house repairs using stucco. At the end of the volume are a number of poems and epigrams.
Extent:
1.4 Linear Feet (1 box and 2 volumes; 70 items)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11401

Background

Scope and content:

The collection features 63 letters, dated 1800-1822 and undated. Topics include progress of various vaccination programs, at home and abroad, as well as his recognition in Parliament and the Royal Jennerian Society; impact of illness in local families; preparations for war, which he opposes; an inscription for his brother's tombstone; gifts and food sent to family and friends; illness among his family members; comments on various printing jobs; settling of accounts, lending money, and dealing with unfavorable tenants and farm managers; fossil collecting; requests for positions on behalf of others and for the return a prisoner of war who is a relation; medical cases and consultations; and his appointment as physician extraordinary to George IV. Included are letters to Dr. [Thomas] Pruen; Charles Henry Parry; James Smith (1771-1841); Dr. S.B. LaBatt; and to Nigel Kingscote. Many items are copies of family letters, they were probably made during the life of Jenner's nephew, William Davies, and contain annotations by him. In addition to the letters, there are a few miscellaneous papers, including poems, a prescription and a recipe, and a receipt for the Royal Jennerian Society. There are four holograph prescriptions and two recipes (1807-1821), four with initials "E.J.," mounted and bound in a volume with an engraved portrait of Jenner. Collection also includes a manuscript diary (188 pages) maintained by Jenner in 1811 and the Fall of 1812, primarily containing notes on his patients and their treatments for various illnesses, from syphilis to gout to heart ailments (including prescriptions) along with records of many vaccinations. There is a note of receipt of a letter (1812 Sept 12) from Dr. Alex Crichton stating that vaccination flourished throughout the Russian Empire. Also contains reports on the dissection of organs from a cow, horse, and sheep, along with two sets of notations regarding diabetes, and one on "pulmonary affections." There are occasional notes with weather observations, recipes, lists of letters written, patient charges or payments, and a few comments on his house repairs using stucco. At the end of the volume are a number of poems and epigrams.

Biographical / historical:

Edward Jenner, (born May 17, 1749, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England—died January 26, 1823, Berkeley), was an English surgeon and scientist who was the pioneer of smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine.

Jenner was a country youth, the son of a clergyman. Because Edward was only five when his father died, he was brought up by an older brother, who was also a clergyman. Edward acquired a love of nature that remained with him all his life. He attended grammar school and at the age of 13 was apprenticed to a nearby surgeon. In the following eight years Jenner acquired a sound knowledge of medical and surgical practice. On completing his apprenticeship at the age of 21, he went to London and became the house pupil of John Hunter, who was on the staff of St. George's Hospital and was one of the most prominent surgeons in London. Even more important, however, he was an anatomist, biologist, and experimentalist of the first rank; not only did he collect biological specimens, but he also concerned himself with problems of physiology and function.

In addition to his training and experience in biology, Jenner made progress in clinical surgery. After studying in London from 1770 to 1773, he returned to country practice in Berkeley and enjoyed substantial success. In addition to practicing medicine, he joined two medical groups for the promotion of medical knowledge and wrote occasional medical papers. He played the violin in a musical club, wrote light verse, and, as a naturalist, made many observations, particularly on the nesting habits of the cuckoo and on bird migration.

Smallpox was widespread in the 18th century, and occasional outbreaks of special intensity resulted in a very high death rate. Jenner had been impressed by the fact that a person who had suffered an attack of cowpox—a relatively harmless disease that could be contracted from cattle—could not take the smallpox—i.e., could not become infected whether by accidental or intentional exposure to smallpox. Pondering this phenomenon, Jenner concluded that cowpox not only protected against smallpox but could be transmitted from one person to another as a deliberate mechanism of protection. In May 1796 Jenner found a young dairymaid, Sarah Nelmes, who had fresh cowpox lesions on her hand. On May 14, using matter from Sarah's lesions, he inoculated an eight-year-old boy, James Phipps, who had never had smallpox. Phipps became slightly ill over the course of the next 9 days but was well on the 10th. On July 1 Jenner inoculated the boy again, this time with smallpox matter. No disease developed; protection was complete. In 1798 Jenner, having added further cases, published privately a slender book entitled An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae.

Early reactions to the Inquiry from the medical community and the general public were mixed. Members of the medical community, especially those with investments in the practice of variolation, tried to discredit Jenner's discovery or stake their own claim to it. Jenner had especially acrimonious feuds with two London physicians, Dr. George Pearson and Dr. William Woodville. Pearson even gave evidence against Jenner's 1802 petition to the House of Commons for recognition of his work on vaccination.

Despite some people's doubts about the safety and efficacy of Jenner's smallpox vaccine, there was great demand for cowpox samples to conduct vaccinations in England and abroad. Jenner and other practitioners in England sent dried cowpox specimens sandwiched between glass to Europe and the United States.

Processing information:

Processed by Alice Poffinberger, March, 2017

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Edward Jenner Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1s627