JOSEPH LISTER - AUTOGRAPH 06/26/1904 CO-SIGNED BY: SIDNEY LEE, TOM PURVIS, WILLIAM CROOKES - HFSID 63587
Price: $3,250.00
JOSEPH LISTER, WILLIAM CROOKES, SIDNEY LEE and TOM
PURVIS. Signatures: "William Crookes.", "Sidney Lee.", "Lister/26 June 1904" on front
and "Tom Purvis" on verso, 5x4. Display is windowed to show verso, on which Purvis has
incorporated his signature into a drawing. JOSEPH LISTER (1827-1912), called the
"Founder of Antiseptic Surgery", signed this album leaf the year that he became weakened
by a serious illness from which he would never fully recover. Over the next several years, the
famed British surgeon collaborated with his friends and colleagues to complete The Collected
Papers of Joseph, Baron Lister (1909), a two-volume set of almost 1,000 pages. In the 1860s,
Lister had implemented the practice of antiseptic surgery by using carbolic acid sprays
to kill airborne germs. He later realized that germs were present elsewhere, making it
necessary for doctors and nurses to wash their hands and to disinfect instruments and dressings
used in the operating room. This procedure saved nearly 50 percent of his patients, who
otherwise would have died from infection without the antiseptic conditions. Because of Lister,
the surgical death rate dropped to about three percent. In 1880, be began using catgut
sutures, instead of hemp, on his patients. The new sutures proved beneficial because they
dissolved in the body after a period of time. Lister also served as President of the Royal
Society (1895-1900), a position that Sir WILLIAM CROOKES (1832-1919) also held
(1913-1915). In 1861, the brilliant scientist had discovered thallium. Although the metal does
not have any commercial use, compounds and oxidized forms of the element have been utilized
for a wide variety of products, ranging from optical lenses to insecticides. In 1854, Crookes
served on the staff at Oxford, from which Sir SIDNEY LEE (1859-1926) graduated in
1882. The prolific scholar became well known for his Shakespearean works, especially the
Life of William Shakespeare(1898). Lee's greatest achievement was editing the
Dictionary of National Biography (1891-1917). From 1920-1950, the illustrations TOM
PURVIS (1889-1959) covered billboards throughout England. The celebrated graphic
designer, who served as an Official War Artist during WWII, is credited with boosting
wartime morale.Front is lightly soiled, stray ink mark at upper right blank corner. Verso is
lightly soiled, glue stain at blank right edge (no show through). Overall, fine condition. Frame
has minor surface chips on right side. Framed to an overall size of 31½x21½.
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