Description
SIR WILLIAM FERGUSSON Autograph Letter Signed.
British (Scottish) surgeon.
ALS. 1p. 16 George Street, Hanover Square, W. 24th May 1866. To [Thomas] Shapter.
"Any time somewhere between 10 and 12 - the sooner after 10 the better."
8vo. Approx 7 x 4.5 inches. Fine.
Sir William Fergusson was a pupil of the Edinburgh anatomist, Dr Robert Knox, and became his demonstrator. He became the foremost surgeon of his day and was renowned for his operative skill and speed. He was president of the Royal College of Surgeons, surgeon to Prince Albert, Sergeant-Surgeon to Queen Victoria, senior surgeon at King's College Hospital and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He invented many surgical instruments, including the bulldog forceps and a mouth gag for cleft palate operations - a procedure he revived and revolutionised. The letter is from a 19th century collection made by a daughter of Thomas Shapter (1808-1902), a doctor known for his early work in epidemiology and his book on the cholera outbreak in Exeter.
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