JOSEPH LISTER - THIRD PERSON AUTOGRAPH NOTE 04/08/1909 - HFSID 159428

JOSEPH LISTER
Surgeon Lister signed this note, written on the back of a blank postcard, in the third person in 1909 to say that he couldn't accede to a request.
Third person autograph note signed "Lord Lister" once in body of letter. 1 page, 5½x3½. April 8, 1909. Addressed to Mr. A. B. Cooper, Wandsworth, England. Written on verso of a bank postcard. One green-and-white halfpenny stamp affixed. In full: "Lord Lister regrets that he is unable to accede to this request - [illegible]". British surgeon Lister (1827-1912) is considered to be the father of antiseptics and modern surgery. In 1865, Lister, who had made a study of inflammation and suppuration following injuries and wounds, began using carbolic acid sprays to kill airborne germs. He realized that germs were present everywhere, 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 would have died from infection without the antiseptic conditions. In 1877, Lister demonstrated conclusively that his method of antisepsis reduced danger to life from surgery. That year, he began serving as the Chair of Clinical Surgery at Kings College, a post that he held until his retirement from surgical practice in 1893, five years before this letter was written. Lister had been created a Baronet in 1883, and Queen Victoria named him Baron Lister of Lyme Regis in 1897 as a result of his contributions to the medical profession. Lightly toned and soiled. Light impressions on address side, which touch signature. Rounded, creased and split corners. Otherwise in fine condition.