THOMAS G. MORTON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 04/21/1896 - HFSID 284935

THOMAS G. MORTON
Signed autograph letter to a medical colleague (1896), apparently discussing a very, very early use of X-ray technology
Autograph Letter signed: "Thomas G. Morton", 3 pages (front and verso, integral leaf), 8x9½ open flat, 8x5 folded. No place, 1896 April 21. On personal letterhead. To "Dear Dr.". In full: "I have ceased to be surprised about anything, and this last, although not expected, is the result of the visit to the Ashland Hospital. I think you were quite right in the stand you have taken, and no matter what happens you will be right. If Will. had taken your advice months ago, it would have been better for the son. I do not think that I ever heard of Biddle having seen the case. I will mail you the Skiograph, but before it faded, the interior shined but little. Truly". American surgeon Thomas George Morton (1835-1909), who became the head physician at the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1857, is best known for being the driving force behind several military hospitals during the American Civil War. He also founded several civilian hospitals, including the Philadelphia Orthopaedic Hospital and the Infirmary for Nervous Diseases (with Silas Weir Mitchell). A popular lecturer, Morton also wrote numerous works on medical themes. Morton's reference to a skiograph shows that he was conversant with leading edge medical technology. These devices, an early radiographic instrument, were novel technology in 1896. Wilhelm Roentgen had only published his discovery of X-rays in December 1895, and Thomas Edison was just beginning his own research on X-rays. One horizontal, 2 vertical fold creases. Lightly toned. Otherwise fine condition.