Sir James Paget correspondence

Collection

Identifier: MSS 2/190-02

Scope and Contents

This is a small collection of holograph letters of English surgeon, Sir James Paget, to a variety of correspondents, 1846-1894. The letters were probably preserved for their autograph value. Most items are responses to invitations or acknowledgements of reprints. Several items are addressed to John B. Roberts. Of note is a lengthy discussion of a case, 1869 August 25. Also included are signature cuttings, a holograph recipe, and two letters, 1887 and 1922, of Paget's son, Stephen Paget.

Dates

1846 - 1922
Majority of material found within 1846 - 1894

Creator

Paget, James, Sir (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Sir James Paget, surgeon and pathologist, was born at Great Yarmouth, England, on 11 January 1814. He married Lydia North in 1844; they had six children. Paget died in London on 30 December 1899.

In 1830, Paget was apprenticed to a surgeon, Charles Costerton. In 1834, he began his medical studies at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London and discovered trichina spiralis. He was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1836 and became surgeon to the Finsbury dispensary in 1841. At St. Bartholomew's, Paget was demonstrator of morbid anatomy and lectured on physiology and surgery. He became assistant surgeon in 1847 and, from 1861 to 1871, surgeon at the hospital. In 1858, he became surgeon extraordinary to the Queen. Paget became a baronet in 1871. He was president of the International Medical Congress in 1881 and also president of the Clinical Society, the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, and the Pathological Society of London.

Extent

1 folder (25 items)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Physical Location

Small collections

Custodial History

The bulk of this collection of Sir James Paget letters was donated to the Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia by E. B. Krumbhaar in 1938. The letters were housed in the Autograph Collection and integrated with other Paget material, including letters donated by A. P. Brubaker in 1918 and Astley P. C. Ashhurst in 1925. The holograph recipe was donated by Richard H. Harte in 1913.

The letters were removed from the Autograph Collection, processed, and catalogued in 1991.