Main content

John K. Mitchell correspondence

Notifications

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.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
MSS 2/263
Repository:
Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Extent:
2 folders (23 items)
Language:
English
Date:
1892-1914 (inclusive)
Creator:
Mitchell, John K. (John Kearsley)
Form:
Correspondence and Book reviews
Abstract:

John Kearsley Mitchell, son of S. Weir and Mary Middleton (Elwyn) Mitchell, was born in Philadelphia in 1859. Mitchell earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1883. He was married to Anne K. Williams. Mitchell died in Philadelphia in 1917.

Mitchell was a resident physician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 1883 and at Episcopal Hospital, also in Philadelphia, from 1883 to 1885. After his residency, Mitchell became an assistant to William Osler at the Philadelphia Orthopaedic Hospital and Infirmary for Nervous Diseases; he later became a visiting surgeon at this hospital.

During his career, Mitchell wrote numerous books and articles. His most valued contribution is Remote Consequences of Injuries of the Nerves, and Their Treatment (1895); in preparing this work, Mitchell re examined surviving patients studied by his father. Mitchell also wrote about the physical effects of massage and the nervous ailments of women. Mitchell belonged to numerous professional societies. He became a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1888, and was a member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Neurological Association, and several local medical societies.

This collection, spanning 1892 to 1914, consists of letters received by John K. Mitchell and some miscellaneous material. Most of the letters concern the publication of Mitchell's book, Remote Consequences of Injuries of the Nerves, and Their Treatment (1895). The collection also contains three letters written by Mitchell, two reviews of his book, a case study, and a signature cutting.

Series 1 contains letters received by Mitchell pertaining to the publication of Remote Consequences of Injuries of Nerves, and Their Treatment. Correspondents include J. M. Da Costa, W. R. Gowers, William W. Keen, George R. Morehouse, Sir William Osler, and H. C. Wood, all of whom comment on Mitchell's book. Mitchell received a great dealjof praise from his colleagues, especially from Osler, who wrote that the book was "first class" and "must remain...the standard authority on the subject". Also of interest is a letter from H. Gowers, who tells Mitchell that Remote Consequences of Injuries of Nerves, and Their Treatment will be quoted as a medical authority in a Supreme Court case in Kings County, New York.

Series 2 contains miscellaneous material. Included is a case study from an operation performed by "Dr. Moston" in 1892, in which a bone fragment was removed from a fractured clavicle. Also present are two reviews of Remote Consequences of Injuries of Nerves, and Their Treatment; one of the reviews mistakenly identifies the title of the book as Injuries and Diseases of the Nerves. A signature cutting from a reprint is also in Series 3.

This collection of John K. Mitchell's letters was donated to the Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia by Mrs. Mitchell Macdonough on 9 May 1952.

The collection was processed and cataloged in 1992.

Publisher
Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Collection Inventory

1. Browning, William. Brooklyn, N.Y., to John K. Mitchell, Philadelphia, Pa., 07 October 1895.
Folder 1
2. Bryer, H. P., to John K. Mitchell. With photograph of a hand exhibiting trophic condition of the fingernails, 08 May 1897.
Folder 1
3. Da Costa, J. M. (Jacob Mendes), Philadelphia, Pa., to John K. Mitchell, 08 December 1893.
Folder 1
4. Da Costa, J. M. (Jacob Mendes), Philadelphia, Pa., to John K. Mitchell, 30 May 1895.
Folder 1
5. Enton, H. Brooklyn, N.Y., to John K. Mitchell, circa 1890s.
Folder 1
6. Gowers, W. R. (William Richard), London England, to John K. Mitchell Philadelphia, Pa., 923.
Folder 1
7. Gowers, W. R. (William Richard), London England, to John K. Mitchell, undated.
Folder 1
8. Keen, William W. (William Williams), Philadelphia, Pa., to John K. Mitchell Philadelphia, Pa., 01 June 1895.
Folder 1
9. Mitchell, John K. (John Kearsley), to William J.? Taylor, Philadelphia, Pa., undated.
Folder 1
10. Mitchell, John K. (John Kearsley), Philadelphia, Pa., to John Ashhurst Philadelphia, Pa., undated.
Folder 1
11. Mitchell, John K. (John Kearsley), Philadelphia, Pa., to Charles Perry? Fisher, undated.
Folder 1
12. Morehouse, George R. (George Read), Philadelphia, Pa., to John K. Mitchell, 05 June 1895.
Folder 1
13. Osler, William, Sir. Philadelphia, Pa., to John K. Mitchell, circa 1895.
Folder 1
14. Putnam, James J., to John K. Mitchell, circa 1895.
Folder 1
15. Suzuki, S. and Y. Sarreyoshi. Tokyo, Japan, to John K. Mitchell, 609.
Folder 1
16. Williams, John W., to John K. Mitchell, 08 December 1898.
Folder 1
17. Willson, Robert N., Jr. Philadelphia, Pa., to John K. Mitchell, 5296.
Folder 1
18. Wister, Owen J. Philadelphia, Pa., to John K. Mitchell, 02 June 1895.
Folder 1
19. Wood, H. C. (Horatio C.), Philadelphia, Pa., to John K. Mitchell, 24 June 1895.
Folder 1

1. "Case X" Case study, 09 December 1892.
Folder 1
2. Reviews of Remote Consequences of Injuries of Nerves, and Their Treatment, circa 1895.
Folder 1
3. Signature cutting, undated.
Folder 1

Print, Suggest