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Friedrich L. J. Boettcher letter and typescript

 Item
Identifier: MSS 396

Content Description

This small collection consists of a letter written by Friedrich L. J. Boettcher on 9 November 1908 to Dr. J. Parsons Schaeffer about a transcription of Nathaniel Highmore’s description of the maxillary sinus, “Antrum maxillae superioris.” Included with the letter is a handwritten copy of “Antrum maxillae superioris” and a typescript copy.

Dates

  • 9 November 1908

Creator

Biographical / Historical

Friedrich L. J. Boettcher could possibly be the artist born 1852, known for illustrator-agricultural subjects, and who lived in the Washington, D.C., area and Germany.

Dr. J. Parsons Schaeffer was born on 20 August 1878 in Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania, and received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1907. After a year of internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, he studied anatomy at Cornell University, where he earned the degree of Master of Arts in 1909, and Doctor of Philosophy in 1910. At Cornell, he began his lifelong research into the anatomy of the upper respiratory system, notably the nose, paranasal sinuses, lachrymal apparatus, and the olfactory organ.

In 1911, he accepted a teaching position at Yale Medical School, and was made full Professor of Anatomy in 1912. In 1914, Schaeffer accepted the position of Professor of Anatomy and Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute of Anatomy at the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. He held this chair until 1948, when he retired to emeritus status.

Schaeffer was elected as Fellow to The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and was a member of the Committee of the Mutter Museum from 1932 to 1945, and Chairman of the Committee from 1937 until 1945. He was elected President of the College in 1946 and held that office for three years. After serving a two-year term as Ex-presidential Counsellor, he was elected a Censor of the College. For many years, he served as Chairman of the Faculty of the Jefferson Medical College. The Pennsylvania Medical Society made him chairman of its committee to promote medical research. Schaeffer also served the Anatomical Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania variously as member, executive secretary, and president from 1914 until his resignation in 1962.

He was the recipient of many awards, including the Gold Medal of the American Medical Association in 1931; Philadelphia County Medical Society’s Strittmatter Award in 1944; and the Clarence E. Shaffrey, S.J. Medal Award from St. Joseph's College in 1961. Yale conferred on him an honorary M.A. degree in 1913, and he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Susquehanna University in 1925. The same degree was also conferred on him by the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1950. Schaeffer was the author of two books and nearly 200 published papers. He was co-author of The Head and Neck in Roentgen Diagnosis, a contributing author of Morris' Human Anatomy from its sixth through its twelfth editions, and was the Editor-in-Chief of the 10th and 11th editions and Advisory Editor for the 12th edition.

Schaeffer died on 7 February 1970.

Nathaniel Highmore (1613-1685), a British surgeon, is credited with one of the earliest descriptions of the maxillary sinus, which he published in 1651.

Sources: “Frederick L J Boettcher.” askART.com. Accessed 25 June 2018. http://www.askart.com/artist/Frederick_L_J_Boettcher/5005311/Frederick_L_J_Boettcher.aspx

Gibbon, John H., Jr. “Memoir of J. Parsons Schaeffer, 1878-1970.” Transactions and Studies of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Vol. 38 (series 4), no. 4 (April 1971): 249-251.

Extent

1 folder

Language of Materials

English

Overview

Friedrich L. J. Boettcher could possibly be the artist born 1852, known for illustrator-agricultural subjects, and who lived in the Washington, D.C., area and Germany.

Dr. J. Parsons Schaeffer (1878-1970) received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1907, a Master of Arts degree in 1909 from Cornell University, and Doctor of Philosophy in 1910, also from Cornell. He served as Professor of Anatomy at Jefferson Medical College from 1914 until 1948. Schaeffer died on 7 February 1970.

This small collection consists of a letter written by Friedrich L. J. Boettcher on 9 November 1908 to Dr. J. Parsons Schaeffer about a transcription of Nathaniel Highmore’s description of the maxillary sinus, “Antrum maxillae superioris.” Included with the letter is a handwritten copy of “Antrum maxillae superioris” and a typescript copy.

Physical Location

Small collections

Processing Information

This collection was discovered during a survey in the summer and fall of 2015. It was processed in the summer of 2018.
Title
Friedrich L. J. Boettcher letter and typescript
Author
Chrissie Perella
Date
June 2018
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Repository

Contact:
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