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Albert S. Ashmead papers

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Held at: Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia [Contact Us]19 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

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Albert Sydney Ashmead, Jr., was born in Philadelphia on 4 April 1850. His parents were Albert Sydney Ashmead, amerchant, and Elizabeth Graham. After receiving his primaryeducation at the Hastings Academy in West Philadelphia,Ashmead received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvaniain 1869. He then took an auxiliary medical course at theUniversity as well as a post graduate course at JeffersonMedical College. From 1871 to 1873, Ashmead practicedmedicine in Philadelphia.

In 1873, he was called to Washington to attend Prince Adzumo,brother of the Emperor of Japan. Ashmead was subsequently appointed Foreign Medical Director of the Tokyo Fu Hospital in Japan. He also taught the first class of students at the medical school of the Tokyo Charity Hospital. Ashmead returned to the United States in 1876. He then practicedmedicine in Doniphan County, Kansas, was the first assistant surgeon for the St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad, and examining surgeon for the U. S. Pension Bureau. In 1882,Ashmead moved to New York City to practice medicine.

In New York, Ashmead pursued his primary medical interest the study of leprosy. He was a motivating force behind the formation of the first International Leprosy Congress, held in Berlin in 1897; representatives of twenty two governments were present. Absolute isolation of all lepers was proposed but defeated during the course of the conference. Ashmead was a firm believer in the contagiousness of leprosy and was the author of the Platt leper bill which came before the U.S.Senate on 22 January 1902. The bill advocated the appointment of a national commissioner of leprosy, the foundation of a national leper home, funding for leprosaria throughout the country, strict isolation of all lepers in American, and a ban on emigration of lepers into the country.

Ashmead also pursued research in syphilis, insanity,pellagra, and Asiatic diseases such as beriberi. He was a keen anthropologist, particularly interested in the origins of diseases, and, in the 1890s, became involved in a scholarly dispute with Rudolf Virchow over leprosy in preColumbian Peru.

He was a member of the University of Pennsylvania medical club, a corresponding member of the Berlin anthropological society, and the Medical Society of Japan.

Ashmead married Florence M. Fleming in 1873. They divorced in1880. They had one son, David Fleming Ashmead. Ashmead then married Isabella M. Wale in 1883; they had three sons,Graham, John, and Robert, and three daughters, Jean, Anne,and Allie.

Albert S. Ashmead died in Philadelphia on 20 February 1911 after an intestinal operation.

The Albert S. Ashmead papers (1875-1910) is a fine collection documenting the professional experiences of a well known American leprologist. The focus of the collection is Ashmead's correspondence with other leprologist and international figures concerning the 1897 Berlin lepra conference. The collection also contains manuscripts of Ashmead's articles, the text for an unpublished anthology on Japanese medicine, and research notes and translations of articles concerning leprosy and anthropology.

Series 1, Biographical and Genealogical, contains newsclippings and a typescript entry with Ashmead's mendations from the National Cyclopedia of American Biography (1894-1909).

Ashmead's correspondence received (1875-1910) in Series contains the most historically significant items in the collection. There is extensive correspondence concerning the 1897 Berlin Lepra Conference from Edvard Ehlers, Jules Goldschmidt, G. Armauer Hansen, and Jonathan Hutchinson.

Other highlights include: Luis F. Alvarez, who describes the use of Carrasquilla's serum to treat leprosy; A. F. Bandelieron the illnesses of Peruvian Indians; G. M. Bowie's reports of leprosy cures; C. H. Branson's extensive account of his experiences as a leper (1910); D. G. Brinton's theories on the history of leprosy; correspondence from Juan deDiosCarrasquilla and Sebastian Carrasquilla; C. L. Conrardy's descriptions of his missions to lepers in Louisiana and china; Francisco Grana's 1907 account of inoculating llamas for syphilis; R. G. Haliburton on anthropological matters; a 1903 letter from Charles Hartzell, Acting Governor of Puerto Rico, concerning a scandal at the leper colony on Cabras Island; correspondence and a photograph from A. W. Hitt concerning leprosy in India; Luther F. McKinney on leprosy in Columbia; an 1895 letter from Clarence B. Moore on archeological evidence for pre Columbian syphilis;correspondence from H. Polakowsky concerning the dispute with Rudolf Virchow; correspondence from Alfred Stille describing his reactions to Ashmead's published writings; and correspondence from Julio C. Tello. Many items not written in English have Ashmead's translations attached.

Series 2 also contains copies of Ashmead's outgoing correspondence (1896-1897) concerning the 1897 conference. Major correspondents are Edvard Ehlers and Jules Goldschmidt.

Photographs of lepers (1896 and 1901) and of a Japanese leprosy nurse (ca. 1885), are contained in Series 3.

A small collection of Ashmead's manuscripts are preserved in series 4. There is one folder of miscellaneous short pieces,mostly newspaper submissions (1880-1909), as well as four lengthy manuscripts on leprosy, tuberculosis, and Japan.

Series 5 contains printed materials and folders of newsclippings on ambidexterity, anthropology, and leprosy. The leprosy folder also contains a handbill, dated 22 January 1897, concerning the proposed conference which was sent to international leprologists from Ashmead as well as the text of the 1902 Platt leper bill.

In 1893, Ashmead assembled numerous translations of German and French articles on leprosy, kakke [beriberi], and miscellaneous Japanese medical and descriptive matters. Many of these articles were written by Albrecht Wernich, and some were translated by Ashmead himself. The collection was dedicated to the medical profession of Japan, as Ashmead maintained that:

These valuable sources of information on subjects deeply interesting to the Japanese people ought to be made easily accessible to that large majority of Japanese physicians who speak English and are not proficient enough in German or French to avail themselves of some remarkable ideas and experiments published in these languages.

This extensive text, entitled "Collection of some foreign opinions on pathological matters peculiar to Japan" does not appear to have ever been published.

Series 7 consists of Ashmead's research files on several subjects, principally leprosy. There are several texts and translations and information on the Berlin anthropological society debate with Rudolf Virchow.

A few documents written in Japanese, including a history of medicine in Japan (1874) and a report sent to Ashmead on sickness in the Japanese army in 1874-1875, are contained in Series 8. This series also includes a newsclipping concerning Jesse James and some leaves from a wreath placed on James' tomb.

The Ashmead Papers were presented to the Library of the college of Physicians by Albert S. Ashmead on 15 February 1910. This gift also included some four books and fifty six pamphlets which were integrated with the Library's holdings.In a letter, dated 4 February 1910, to Charles Perry Fisher,Ashmead says: "Altogether the collection represents to me many years of persistent, hard study and almost unendurable toil. It is a collection pertaining to the work of one American physician. When we take into the account of work done by so many others of us, we can foot up a sum in behalf of American Medicine that would compare favorably with that of any other country on the globe."

The collection was roughly sorted by Lisa Frierman during the winter of 1974-1975, and a calendar of the correspondence was produced. The collection was fully processed in August 1989.

Publisher
Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Collection Inventory

Series 1: Biographical And Genealogical, 1894-1909.

"A", 1896-1907.
Box 1 Folder 1
Alvarez, Luis F., 1896-1897.
Box 1 Folder 2
"B", 1894-1908.
Box 1 Folder 3
Bandelier, A. F., 1907-1910.
Box 1 Folder 4
Bigge, Sir Arthur, 1896.
Box 1 Folder 5
Bingham, John A., 1875;1879.
Box 1 Folder 6
Bowie, G. M., 1896;1900.
Box 1 Folder 7
Bradsby, H. C., 1898;1906.
Box 1 Folder 8
Branson, C. H., 1910.
Box 1 Folder 9
Brinton, D. G., 1891-1898.
Box 1 Folder 10
"C", 1894-1907.
Box 1 Folder 11
Carrasquilla, Juan de Dios, 1896-1908.
Box 1 Folder 12
Carrasquilla, Sebastian, 1897-1910.
Box 1 Folder 13
Conrardy, L. L., 1901-1909.
Box 1 Folder 14
Cox, J. H. [includes photograph], 1896-1903.
Box 1 Folder 15
Culin, Stewart, 1895.
Box 1 Folder 16
"D", 1894-1909.
Box 1 Folder 17
"E", 1894;1895.
Box 1 Folder 18
Edwards, C. J., 1908-1910.
Box 1 Folder 19
Ehlers, Edvard, 1894-1897.
Box 1 Folder 20
"F", 1897-1910.
Box 1 Folder 21
"G", 1894-1909.
Box 1 Folder 22
Gepp, G. R., 1907-1910.
Box 1 Folder 23
Goldschmidt, Jules, 1895-1899.
Box 2 Folder 24a
Goldschmidt, Jules, 1895-1899.
Box 2 Folder 24b
Goldschmidt, Jules, 1895-1899.
Box 2 Folder 24c
Goldschmidt, Jules, 1895-1899.
Box 2 Folder 24d
"H", 1894-1909.
Box 2 Folder 25
Haliburton, R. G., 1895-1896.
Box 2 Folder 26
Hansen, G. Armauer, 1894-1909.
Box 2 Folder 27
Havelburg, W., 1896-1901.
Box 2 Folder 28
Hawaiian lepers, 1903.
Box 2 Folder 29
Hitt, A. W. [includes photograph], 1896-1897.
Box 2 Folder 30
Hutchinson, Jonathan, 1896;1908.
Box 2 Folder 31
"I" and "J", 1896-1904.
Box 2 Folder 32
"K", 1896-1909.
Box 2 Folder 33
"L", 1894-1909.
Box 2 Folder 34
Lassar, O., 1897-1907.
Box 2 Folder 35
"M", 1894-1909.
Box 2 Folder 36
McKinney, Luther F., 1894-1895.
Box 2 Folder 37
Moore, Clarence B., 1895-1903.
Box 2 Folder 38
Morrow, Prince A., 1895-1896.
Box 2 Folder 39
Mulhane, L. W., 1897-1904.
Box 2 Folder 40
Munro, William, 1897-1909.
Box 2 Folder 41
"N", 1894-1909.
Box 2 Folder 42
"O" and "P", 1895-1907.
Box 2 Folder 43
Peypers, H. F. A., 1897-1898.
Box 2 Folder 44
Polakowsky, H., 1898-1899.
Box 3 Folder 45
"Q", 1894;1910.
Box 3 Folder 46
"R", 1894-1906.
Box 3 Folder 47
"S", 1894-1910.
Box 3 Folder 48
Stille, Alfred, 1891-1899.
Box 3 Folder 49
"T", 1890-1908.
Box 3 Folder 50
Tello, Julio C., 1907-1910.
Box 3 Folder 51
"U" and "V", 1897-1904.
Box 3 Folder 52
"W", 1894-1909.
Box 3 Folder 53
"Y" and "Z", 1902-1907.
Box 3 Folder 54
Unidentified correspondents, 1897;1907.
Box 3 Folder 55
General file, 1896-1897.
Box 3 Folder 1
Ehlers, Edvard, 1896.
Box 3 Folder 2
Goldschmidt, Jules, 1896-1897.
Box 3 Folder 3

"Japanese leper nurse", crica 1885.
Box 3 Folder 1
"Dong Cong the leper", 1901.
Box 3 Folder 2
"Plantar ulcers on feet of Gunga" [see Subseries 2.1], circa 1896.
Box 3 Folder 3

Miscellaneous writings, 1880-1909.
Box 3 Folder 1
"Pre Columbian leprosy", circa 1899.
Box 3 Folder 2
"Bumptious and barbarous Japan", circa 1909.
Box 3 Folder 3
"The nuclemic treatment of tuberculosis and the science of it", undated.
Box 3 Folder 4
"The number of lepers in Japan", undated.
Box 3 Folder 5

Ambidexterity, 1903-1905.
Box 3 Folder 1
Anthropology, 1906.
Box 3 Folder 2
Leprosy, 1897-1908.
Box 3 Folder 3
Miscellaneous printed material, 1905.
Box 3 Folder 4

Preface, 1893.
Box 4 Folder 1
Erwin Baelz, "Contributions to the theory of leprosy", circa 1885.
Box 4 Folder 1
Albrecht Wernich, "Occasion extent and general contents of the journey by way of preface", 1878.
Box 4 Folder 2
Albrecht Wernich, "Leprosy", 1878.
Box 4 Folder 3
Albrecht Wernich, "Forms and clinical course of leprosy", undated.
Box 4 Folder 4
Albrecht Wernich, "Aetiology extinction and hygienic treatment of leprosy", 1881.
Box 4 Folder 5
Albrecht Wernich, "Notes about lepra anesthetica in Japan", 1876.
Box 4 Folder 6
P. G. Unna, "Histology of the leprous skin", 1885.
Box 4 Folder 7
P. G. Unna, "Coloration of lepra bacilli", 1885.
Box 4 Folder 8
Durand Fardell, "Leprosy in China", undated.
Box 4 Folder 9
Carl Friedel, "Report of Dr. C. Friedel, Prussian ship doctor, as to lepra in China, Japan and the Canary islands", 15 November 1860.
Box 4 Folder 10
Alfred Wolff, "Leprosy reminiscences from Norway", 1885.
Box 4 Folder 11
E. Baron, "About lepra taurica", 1885.
Box 4 Folder 12
P. G. Unna, "Cure of a case of lepra tuberosa", 1885.
Box 4 Folder 13
Heinrich Botha Scheube, "Contributions to the history of kakke in Kioto", undated.
Box 4 Folder 1
Tsunatsune Hassimoto, "The beriberi disease", 1876.
Box 4 Folder 2
Thomas Hoffman, "The Japanese kakke", undated.
Box 4 Folder 3
Charles Remy, "Kakke", undated.
Box 4 Folder 4
Albrecht Wernich, "Sero phthisis perniciosa endemica", 1875.
Box 4 Folder 5
Erwin Baelz, "Kakke beriberi", circa 1880.
Box 4 Folder 6
Albrecht Wernich, "Visit at the beriberi lazarettos in Batavia, Campong, Macassar, and Buitenzorg", 1875.
Box 4 Folder 7
M. deQuatrefages, "Observations on a note of Dr. Maget concerning the Japanese race", circa 1889.
Box 4 Folder 1
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan race and hereditary characteristics", 1875.
Box 4 Folder 2
Charles Remy, "On the Japanese", 1883.
Box 4 Folder 3
C. Pfoundes, "The Japanese people their origin and the race as it now exists", circa 1881.
Box 4 Folder 4
"Bodily structure of the Japanese", 1878.
Box 4 Folder 5
Heinrich Botha Scheube, "The length of the intestine in Japanese", undated.
Box 4 Folder 6
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan nutrition", undated.
Box 4 Folder 7
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan climactic relations", undated.
Box 4 Folder 8
Alexander I. Woeikoff, "China and Japan", 1887.
Box 4 Folder 9
Albrecht Wernich, "Glances at the mental life of the nation", undated.
Box 4 Folder 10
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan adult men and women", circa 1876.
Box 4 Folder 11
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan characteristics of the different ages", undated.
Box 5 Folder 12
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan constitutional diseases", undated.
Box 5 Folder 13
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan infectious diseases appendix: materia medica and physicians", undated.
Box 5 Folder 14
Charles Remy, "Medical notes about Japan", 1883.
Box 5 Folder 15
Erwin Baelz, "Infectious diseases of Japan", circa 1882.
Box 5 Folder 16
Thomas Hoffman, "The medical situation of Japan", 1874.
Box 5 Folder 17
Charles Anglada, "Scarlatina considered as a new disease", 1869.
Box 5 Folder 18
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan about the life of foreigners there", undated.
Box 5 Folder 19
Albrecht Wernich, "Japan journeys in the interior Kobe, Kyoto, Nagasaki departure", undated.
Box 5 Folder 20

Miguel Rueda Acosta, "Clinical study of some cases of nervous leprosy of tropical countries", undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
Apoplexy, circa 1908.
Box 5 Folder 2
Berlin Anthropological Society debate on pre Columbian leprosy, circa 1897.
Box 5 Folder 3
D. G. Brinton, "Anthropological notes", 1896.
Box 5 Folder 4
Chinese medicine, undated.
Box 5 Folder 5
Espada, "Some considerations on leprosy its curative treatment", undated.
Box 5 Folder 6
Gangrene, undated.
Box 5 Folder 7
Alfredo Garces on leprosy, circa 1893.
Box 5 Folder 8
Goitre, undated.
Box 5 Folder 9
Wolff Havelburg, "Estudos sobre a anatomia pathologica e o diagnostico differencial da lepra nervosa", circa 1895.
Box 5 Folder 10
Japanese medicine, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
"Lepers and cagots", undated.
Box 5 Folder 12
"Lepra", 1893.
Box 5 Folder 13
Leprosy (2 folders), undated.
Box 5 Folder 14
"Leprosy in Peru", circa 1894.
Box 5 Folder 15
Lima on the diseases of Indians, undated.
Box 5 Folder 16
"Memoria del Virrey del Peru", circa 1901.
Box 5 Folder 17
Ernesto Odriozola, "Le maladie de Carrion, ou la verruga peruvienne", circa 1898.
Box 5 Folder 18
Vincente Restrepo, "Fue conocida la lepra en America", circa 1895.
Box 5 Folder 19
D. Enrique Robelin, "Es o no contagiosa la lepra?", circa 1887.
Box 5 Folder 20
D. Enrique Robelin, "La lepra es contagiosa", circa 1887.
Box 5 Folder 21
Torquemada, "Monarchia indiana", undated.
Box 5 Folder 22
L. Wolff on American syphilis, circa 1910.
Box 5 Folder 23

Japanese documents, 1874-1875.
Box 5 Folder 1
Jesse James memorabilia, undated.
Box 5 Folder 2

"A Japanese leper nurse, full length albumen mounted, 4. 25 x 6. 5", U. Georg and Company, Chicago [ca.1885?], undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
"Dong Cong the leper, taken at quarantine, head and shoulders, black and white mounted, 5 x 5", R. D. Hudson? [25 October 1901 ], undated.
Box 5 Folder 2
"Plantar ulcers on feet of Gunga, albumen mounted, 4" x 6", A. W. Hitt, [Mungeli, India], [ca.1896?] [see Series 2.1, J. H. Cox], undated.
Box 5 Folder 3
"Plantar ulcers on feet of Gunga, albumen unmounted, 4" x 5", A. W. Hitt, [Mungeli, India], [ca.1896?] [see Series 2. 1, A. W. Hitt], undated.
Box 5 Folder 4

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