Edward Jenner papers, 1777, 1800-1822

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
Hunter, John, 1728-1793, correspondent
Jenner, Catherine, 1759-1815, correspondent
Trent, Josiah C. (Josiah Charles), 1914-1948, former owner
Abstract:
Edward Jenner (1749-1823) was an English surgeon and naturalist known for developing the smallpox vaccine. This collection dates from 1777-1822 and consists mainly of letters written by Edward Jenner to family and friends as well as officials and associates concerned with smallpox vaccination. The collection also includes prescriptions, poems, and a notebook (1810-1812) with Jenner's details on his patients and their treatments for various illnesses, including syphilis, gout, and heart ailments, along with records of many vaccinations. Correspondence topics include: activities of various vaccination programs at home and abroad, including the Royal Jennerian Society and the National Vaccine Establishment; medical cases and consultations; Jenner's recognition in Parliament as discoverer of the smallpox vaccine and his appointment as physician extraordinary to George IV; requests for positions on behalf of others and for the return of a relative who was a prisoner of war in France; updates on health and activities of family members and acquaintances, including the health of his wife Catherine, who suffered from tuberculosis; and financial matters. Family correspondents include Catherine Jenner, brother-in-law William Davies, nephew William Davies, and sister Mary Black. Other correspondents include John Hunter, Thomas Pruen, Thomas Paytherus, Charles Henry Parry, Samuel Bell Labatt, and Charles Murray.
Extent:
1.4 Linear Feet (1 box and 2 volumes; 71 items)
Language:
Materials in English
Research Center:
Josiah Charles Trent History of Medicine Collections
Collection ID:
RL.11401

Background

Scope and content:

This collection documents the personal and professional activities of English surgeon Edward Jenner between 1777-1822. The majority of the collection consists of letters written by Edward Jenner to family and friends as well as officials and associates concerned with smallpox vaccination. Many of the documents are handwritten reproductions, likely made during the life of Jenner's nephew, William Davies, who inherited Jenner's correspondence. Correspondence topics include: activities of various vaccination programs at home and abroad, including the Royal Jennerian Society and the National Vaccine Establishment; medical cases and consultations; Jenner's recognition in Parliament and his appointment as physician extraordinary to George IV; requests for positions on behalf of others and for the return of a relative who was a prisoner of war in France; updates on health and activities of family members and acquaintances, including the health of his wife Catherine, who suffered from tuberculosis; comments on various printing jobs; and fossil collecting. The collection also includes business and financial topics such as the settling of accounts, lending money, and dealing with unfavorable tenants and farm managers.

Family correspondents include Catherine Jenner, brother-in-law William Davies (1741-1817), nephew William Davies (1769-1849), and sister Mary Black. Other correspondents include John Hunter, Thomas Pruen, Thomas Paytherus, Charles Henry Parry, Samuel Bell Labatt, and Charles Murray.

The collection also includes several poems, prescriptions, recipes, and a donation receipt for the Royal Jennerian Society. Some of these documents are mounted and bound in a volume with an engraved portrait of Jenner.

A notebook dating from 1810-1812 includes a diary 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. The notebook also contains various notes, poems and epigrams. There is a note of receipt of a letter (1812 September 12) from Dr. Alexander Crichton stating that vaccination has flourished throughout the Russian Empire. Also present are 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.

Biographical / historical:

Edward Jenner (1749-1823) was an English surgeon and naturalist known for developing the smallpox vaccine. He was born on May 17, 1749 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England, to parents Rev. Stephen and Sarah Jenner. Among his siblings were Mary Jenner (Black) (1730-1810), Stephen Jenner (1732-1797), and Ann Jenner (Davies) (1740?-1812). Jenner's medical training began at age 13, when he was apprenticed to the surgeon Daniel Ludlow. In 1770, Jenner moved to London to continue his training under surgeon, anatomist, and naturalist John Hunter at St. George's Hospital.

Jenner returned to Berkeley in 1773 and established his own medical practice. In 1788, he married Catherine Kingscote (1759-1815), with whom he had three children: Edward R. (1789-1810), Robert (1792-1854), and Catherine (1794-1833). The Jenners established a secondary residence in Cheltenham, Glouchestershire, in 1795.

In 1796, Jenner began experimenting with cowpox inoculation as a safer method of preventing smallpox infections than the longstanding variolation practices used in various populations across the globe. His first subject was James Phipps, the eight-year-old son of his gardener, using cowpox matter taken from Sarah Nelms, a local dairymaid who had contracted the virus. He publicized his success in this and subsequent trials through the 1798 publication An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae.

In the following years, Jenner promoted smallpox vaccination through additional publications, correspondence with medical practitioners and government officials, and the preparation and distribution of cowpox virus samples for use in vaccinations. Jenner received financial awards from the British Parliament in 1802 and 1807, after he successfully petitioned the body for acknowledgement of his work. Despite questions about the originality of his discovery in the scientific community, Jenner gained official recognition and honors for his work domestically and internationally.

Jenner retired to Berkley after the death of his wife Catherine from tuberculosis in 1815. He died following a stroke in January 1823.

Sources:

"About Edward Jenner." The Jenner Institute website. Accessed 2025 January 9.

Gross, C. P., and K. A. Sepkowitz. "The myth of the medical breakthrough: smallpox, vaccination, and Jenner reconsidered." International Journal of Infectious Diseases Vol. 3, no. 1 (1998), pp. 54-60. Accessed 2025 January 22. doi:10.1016/s1201-9712(98)90096-0

Riedel, Stefan. "Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination." Proceedings of the Baylor University Medical Center vol. 18, no. 1 (January 2005), pp. 21-25. Accessed 2025 January 9. doi: 10.1080/08998280.2005.11928028.

Custodial history:

Acquired as part of the Josiah C. Trent Collection (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

Processing information:

Processed by Alice Poffinberger, March 2017.

John Hunter letter to Edward Jenner, 1777 September 7 (formerly standalone collection RL.10564), transferred to this collection, and collection description updated by Mary Mellon, February 2025.

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