2. Patrick Heron Watson (in German): Edinburgh, Scotland , to Richard von Volkmann, 12 July 1869

Item — Box: 1

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: This collection consists of letters received by Richard von Volkmann and one letter sent by him. The letters, spanning 1867 to 1889, cover the last twenty years of Volkmann's life, when he had achieved international fame and recognition. The correspondents in the collection are notable physicians, surgeons, and professors from Germany, England, France, Russia, and the United States. Most of the letters are written in German; some are written in French and English. English transcripts are provided for all of the letters.

Much of the correspondence pertains to Volkmann's "Collection of Clinical Lectures". The correspondents discuss essays they are preparing for publication, many of which pertain to Joseph Lister's antiseptic wound treatment. Other letters discuss the preparation of papers for the yearly meeting or "Congress" of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Chirurgie (German Surgical Society). Some of the correspondents discuss various surgical techniques, request personal or professional advice from Volkmann, or ask if they may visit him and observe his work at the clinic in Halle, Germany.

One letter in the collection (28 June 1889) was written by Volkmann just a few months before his death; in this letter, he addresses Henry T. Butlin's queries concerning the relationship between tar and paraffin cancer and "Chimney Sweeper's Cancer".

The correspondents in the collection include: Adolf Bardeleben, Ernst von Bergmann, Wilhelm Busch, Henry T. Butlin, Henry W. Farnam, Werner Hagedorn, A. Hegar, Hjalmar Heiberg, C. Hueter, Theodor Kocher, Leon Labbe, Bernhard von Langenbeck, H. Maas, W. Manassein, Albert Mosetig Moorhof, Felix von Niemeyer, J. N. Nussbaum, Auguste Reverdin, J. L. Reverdin, Carl Reyher, Gustav Simon, Carl Thiersch, Sir Patrick Heron Watson, Spencer Wells, and C. A. Wunderlich. Detailed biographical information about each correspondent is contained in the collection folder.

Two of the letters in the collection, written by W. Manassein (1867 Aug. 9/21) and Carl Reyher (1876 Jan. 16/28) provide two dates of composition, one date reflecting the regular or Gregorian calendar and the other the old style or Julian calendar, used in Russia until 1918. Nineteen of the letters in this collection were published in Volume 43 (1939) and Volume 45 (1941) of Janus, archives internationales pour l'histoire de la Medecine et la geographie medicale. Ten of the letters remain unpublished.