Series 1: Correspondence, 1918; 1924

This small collection of Edmund B. Piper Papers consists of two items of correspondence received, 1918 and 1924; and typescripts of five speeches, 1915-1931. The collection documents Piper's experiences in World War I and his work with the treatment of septicemia.

In Series 1, the letter, dated 28 June 1918, by Robert G. LeConte to Piper describes an offensive attack on a French mobile hospital and conditions at Hospital No.1 at Neuilly. The letter from Irene F. Lamb of Women's Hospital of Philadelphia gives a report of two patients who were treated with mercurochrome in 1924.

In Series 2, Piper's 1915 speech, "Personal impressions of the surgery of the Great War" (1) describes his experiences earlier that year as an Assistant Surgeon with the University of Pennsylvania Unit of the American Ambulance in France. Piper gives an account of conditions in the war hospital at Neuilly; classifies wounds and surgical techniques; and describes the use of hydraulic pressure to irrigate wounds and promote continuous free drainage as well as the gas bacillus infection. By contrast, the speech (2) which Piper delivered to the Clearfield County Medical Society in 1919, describes his experiences in the United States Army in 1917. He recounts conditions at the Medical Officers Training Camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, then his experiences at Brest in Field Hospital No.42 and Camp Hospital No.48. Piper gives several examples of friction between the military commanders and medical staff.

Speeches 3 and 4 give information on Piper's work using Mercurochrome 220 to combat infection and septicemia. "Blood stream infection", 1924, gives accounts of several patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and their experiences with this treatment, while "Intravenous use" distinguishes between bacteremia and septicemia and examines the historical basis for treating septicemia with Mercurochrome 220.

Speech 5, "The psychological duty of the obstetrician", 1931, is Piper's argument to slow the rate of divorce due to sexual incompatibility through premarital education by obstetricians.