Smallpox -- Vaccination

Scope and Contents This chart shows "a comparative view of the effects on individuals and society" by smallpox, inoculated smallpox, and inoculated cowpox (or smallpox vaccine). The chart details the general character and mortality of the diseases, as well as the danger; eruptions; confinement, loss of time, expense; requisite precautions; medical treatment; deformity; and subsequent diseases. Also included on the chart are illustrations highlighting the comparative outcomes of infection with smallpox,...

Scope and Contents The collection includes a reply by Benjamin Rush and twelve other Philadelphia physicians, Charles Caldwell, William Dewees, John Redman Coxe, Philip Syng Physick, James Reynolds, Francis Bowes Sayre, John C. Otto, William Boys, Samuel Cooper, James Stuart, Felix Pascalis Ouviere, and Joseph Strong, to inquiry of Thomas Mifflin on 1797 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. Rush maintains yellow fever is identical with bilious remitting fever of warm climates, discusses source of 1797...

Scope and Contents Letters describe David W. Lewis’s life and experiences as a medical student at Jefferson Medical College, 1845-1846, and his first private practice in Ebensburg, Pa., in 1846. Most of the content dwells on the difficulties of Lewis’ separation from his fiancee, Maria; there is also a great deal of religious speculation. One letter, 11 Dec. 1845, mentions illness among the students, and another, [ca. 7 Jan. 1846], describes an outbreak of smallpox in Philadelphia and a debate over vaccination...

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This collection contains 17 letters from Edward Jenner to Charles Murray, the Secretary of the National Vaccine Establishment in England. The letters discuss ongoing efforts to gain support for vaccination against smallpox, affairs of the National Vaccine Establishment, and vaccination news, including notable remarks and publications on inoculation and vaccination. The letters also mention the Royal Jennerian Society, the London Vaccination Institute, and the French Vaccine Committee.

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This advertisement offers inoculation for smallpox by Stephen Samuel Hawley in Fiskdale, Massachusetts. It also notes that a Pest-House (i.e. a house to quarantine those infected with communicable diseases such as smallpox) will be opened.

Note: this is a later reprint of the 1801 advertisement.

Scope and Contents The collection consists of an autographed letter signed, 28 Mar. 1793, from Dr. John Andrews in Philadelphia, Pa. to Dr. James Hollingshead in Northhampton. Dr. Andrews was responding to Dr. Hollingshead’s request for smallpox vaccine. Dr. Andrews wrote the letter while training at the Philadelphia Almshouse (later Philadelphia General Hospital), and in the letter, he comments on the general character of the patients he treats. Dr. Andrews also lists those individuals graduating with him...

Scope and Contents This small collection contains negative photostat copies of letters and other documents relating to Benjamin Rush and his practice in the Army. Letters of Benjamin Rush to George Washington are dated February 13, 1777, May 13, 1777, and August 30, 1777. There are also two memoranda dated December 23, 1777 with photocopy of letter of J. Norcum to Washington, criticizing Rush, dated December 29, 1777. Letters from George Washington to Benjamin Rush are dated May 16, 1777, September 4, 1777,...

Abstract The Pennsylvania State Vaccination Commission was created in 1911 to investigate vaccination and the practice of compulsory vaccination in Pennsylvania. This collection includes meeting minutes, including reports presented by both proponents and opponents of vaccination in general, but especially against smallpox; interrogations; and discussions with a variety of documents. Reports and discussions address the history of vaccination and smallpox, their nature and their symptoms, include...

Scope and Contents This scrapbook contains clippings of articles, reports, letters to the editor, etc. related to and expressing opposition to vaccination, especially compulsory vaccination. Many reports are from Muncie, Terre Haute, and other parts of Indiana, but coverage also includes Brooklyn, Chicago, Milwaukee, and parts of England. The clippings focus on the arguments against vaccination, including letters to the editor and responses to letters signed by “Anti-Vaccination” or “Anti;” court...

Scope and Contents This collection consists of a three-page statement from the Surgeons General of the United States Army, Navy, and U.S. Public Health Serivce which declares that syphilis cannot be contracted from calf lymph smallpox vaccination. The statement goes on to list the number of vaccinated individuals and explains safety measures, including that the quality of vaccines is prescribed by the Pure Food and Drugs Law and that sales are controlled by regulations drawn up by a board composed of the...