Lot #6044

Louis Pasteur Letter Signed

Description

"The rabies vaccine cannot travel," Pasteur explains, "If you have any subjects who have been bitten, and bitten not too long ago, you can send them to me; the treatment will be free"

LS in French, signed “L. Pasteur,” one page, 5.25 x 8, no date but likely circa 1885-1886. Letter to Dr. George Henslow at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, in full (translated): "At the moment, the rabies vaccine cannot travel; I hope this will come later. I have not yet turned my mind to a method of achieving this. If you have any subjects who have been bitten, and bitten not too long ago, you can send them to me; the treatment will be free: it lasts about ten days; other costs, travel, accommodation, etc., will naturally be you clients' own expense." In fine condition, with light toning, and two light edge stains.

After five years of extensive study of the rabies virus and the successful treatment of several infected dogs, Louis Pasteur faced his first human patient in July of 1885. Certain that the severely bitten nine-year-old Joseph Meister would not survive without treatment, he began the course of the 13 injections; after administering all 13, one each day, in progressively stronger doses, Meister regained strength and never developed rabies. After a second successful treatment on a bitten shepherd four months later, word spread and people began to seek him out for the vaccinations. When four boys in New Jersey were bit by a rabid dog, a fundraising effort arose to help send them to France, accompanied by American surgeon Dr. John Shaw Billings, via ocean liner for Pasteur's treatment; despite the long travel, the boys all returned home in January of 1886 in excellent health. Three months later, Pasteur would officially present his results, announcing only one fatality out of 350 patients who received the vaccine. An excellent letter from the crucial early stage of the vaccine's history.

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Science and Technology
• Dates: #554 - Ended December 13, 2018

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