“The telegraph of the 17th heralded over the western world . . . the unknown ocean of Eternity”: “In Memoriam,” The Medical and Surgical Reporter vol 2, no. 1. April 2, 1859
“The subject of this memoir needs no eulogium from us, before the medical profession, and our humble hands would attempt to wreathe no new laurels for his brow . . . and to relieve the miseries of others”: Levis, “Memoir of Thomas Dent Mütter”
“While I recount his manly form and noble bearing . . . my teacher, my friend, now no more”: The Medical and Surgical Report.
“In every view of him, he was a ‘good physician’” . . . His manner hopefully . . . to eternal rest”: Levis, “Memoir of Thomas Dent Mütter”
“able hand” to write “the biography of this great . . . household word of American Surgery: The Medical and Surgical Report.
“Respect for his memory, and the gratitude . . . history of American Surgery”: Levis, “Memoir of Thomas Dent Mütter”
“Yet again shall we meet him . . . where preceptor and . . . where sorrows are unknown!”: Ibid.
“It is indeed impossible for me even now to revert . . . thorny paths of a surgical career”: Pancoast, A Discourse Commemorative
“Dr. Mütter died early . . . too early . . . one of the noblest branches of the healing art”: Ibid.
“Dr. Mütter raised his reputation to the highest pitch during his life. It may not, however, be so enduring, or go down so far to posterity. . . . records of science”: Ibid.
“Often has he talked over such a project with me . . . our wishes and their fulfillment”: Ibid.
hereditary gout and lung hemorrhages “greatly harassed, distressed, and weakened him”: Ibid.
“forced upon him by slow degrees, and to the great regret of his colleagues” . . . leave Philadelphia: Ibid.
“The prospect of having to abandon his duties . . . like the rending away of his right arm”: Ibid.
“For myself especially, who lived so long in his gentle . . . a similar sort of retrospection”: Ibid.
“Such, gentlemen, was the surgeon whom the science . . . and name we shall ever cherish”: Ibid.
fourth edition of his textbook . . . when news of Mütter’s death broke: Meigs, Memoir
thirty-seven acres of land in Delaware County, eighteen miles from the city: Ibid.
a barn and a stable, a tenant house, a springhouse, an icehouse, and a workshop: Ibid.
“the Indian name of a small river in Connecticut [where] his forefathers had settled”: Ibid.
“luxuriant growth of noble woods”: Ibid.
“Men ought to retire from public appointments . . . judging of their own fitness for duty”: Ibid.
Meigs agreed to give one more course of lectures . . . “though against his will or wishes: Ibid.
“I am now old and well stricken in years . . . and yet I labor in my calling! How long!”: Ibid.
“This afternoon I delivered my last lecture at the Jefferson . . . simply glad to get out of it”: Ibid.
“entirely weary of all medical responsibilities”: Ibid.
“lost . . . taste for medical literature, and rarely looked into a medical book”: Ibid.
If any battle of disastrous end should be known . . . “he should whistle twice as often”: Ibid.
“favorite and pride among all his descendants . . . looked for at the hands of this grandson”: Ibid.
“in one of the most luckless engagements of our war”: Ibid.
“mind rose faithful still, and strong, above the dreadful sorrow”: Ibid.
“The Angel of Death had not gone back to his abode . . . vulnerable state of my grandfather”: Ibid.
“the keenness of [Meigs’s] grief had begun to lose his edge”: Ibid.
“She was not my grandfather’s better half; she was his whole . . . would gladly have left it”: Ibid.
“slowly pining away in grief both of soul and body”: Ibid.
suffer “untold distresses with a bodily infirmity that took away his peace”: Ibid.
“whose hot red bricks and monotonous lanes he had long ago learned to hate”: Ibid.
“the distressed women and dying children that he had known as [the city’s] inmates”: Ibid.
“Cooped up in a second-story room, he pined for the peace . . . happiness in the fields alone”: Ibid.
“a quiet night and an end of [my] toils”: Ibid.
“There was only a little left of his mortal self . . . and he pined for dissolution”: Ibid.
“All of him thought his life was now near its end . . . proud of its own strength”: Ibid.
“full of misery and rent with shame”: Ibid.
“repository for specimens, models, historical instruments” . . . all over the world: Bauer, Doctors
lumber, carpentry, bricklaying, painting, and plumbing: Wade, “A Curator’s Story”
cases and jars needed to accommodate the more than two thousand specimens: Ibid.
“without charge or fee”: The Medical News Vol. XV. No. 169 (Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea; 1857)
chairman of the committee on the Mütter Museum: Gibson Lamb Cranmer, ed., History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia. (Chicago, IL: Biographical Publishing Company, 1902)
In 1880, Brinton was asked to give a speech . . . memories of the famous Faculty of ’41: Brinton, “Alumni Address: The Faculty of 1841”
the sharpshooting street urchins who hit Mütter’s students with snowballs: Ibid.
“[a] stove-maker’s room and [a] bottler’s upper stories”: Ibid.
“savory oyster” and “a steaming midnight cup of coffee . . . of the [exhausted] watcher”: Ibid.
the story of Meigs and the etherized sheep that refused to die: Ibid.
“beloved, nay almost worshiped by his class”: Ibid.
“his great charm lay in his enthusiasm and in his power . . . his own spirit to hearers”: Ibid.
(“powers and capabilities which shone so conspicuously”): Ibid.
“the anticipations and cherished hopes of its founder”: Ibid.
“Time in his flight brings many changes . . . great professors . . . and we owe them much”: Ibid.
“This world is no place of rest. . . . but for effort. Steady continuous undeviating effort”: Mütter, Introductory Lecture, 1847
“Thus, in dying . . . has he left a precious heritage to the profession”: Pancoast, A Discourse Commemorative
“While these bodies may be ugly . . . there is a terrifying beauty . . . endure these afflictions”: Worden, Mütter Museum
“Place no dependence on your own genius . . . nothing is obtained without it”: Mütter, Introductory Lecture, 1847
“This world is no place of rest. . . . Our work should never be done . . . nothing more to accomplish”: Ibid.
IMAGE CREDITS
PROLOGUE
Bust of Thomas Dent Mütter by Peter Charles Reniers. Plaster bust of Thomas Dent Mütter by Peter Charles Reniers, circa 1850s. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia (ST 514). The image of this object is used by kind permission of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Photograph by Evi Numen. Copyright 2014 by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Used by permission.
CHAPTER ONE
Wax Model of Madame Dimanche. Wax model of a human horn (cornu cutaneum). Successfully removed after six years’ growth from Madame Dimanche, a Parisian widow, in the early nineteenth century. From the original collection of Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter (1811–1859). Mütter Museum Collection (#6002). The image of this object is used by kind permission of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Photograph by Evi Numen. Copyright 2014 by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Used by permission.
“Woman with Ulcer of the Face” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Rob
ert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
“Man with Tumor of the Jaw” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
“Woman with Severe Burns of the Face” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
CHAPTER TWO
Title page of An Account of the Bilious Remitting Yellow Fever by Benjamin Rush. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Portrait of Lucinda Gillies Mutter, date and artist are unknown. Courtesy of Virginia Historical Society.
Portrait of John Mutter, date and artist are unknown. Courtesy of Virginia Historical Society.
CHAPTER THREE
Panorama Views of Philadelphia from the State House Steeple (North, South, East and West) by John Caspar Wild. Courtesy of The Library Company of Philadelphia.
Sabine Hall, date and artist are unknown. Courtesy of Virginia Historical Society.
Clothing Bill for a Young Thomas Mutter, courtesy of Carter Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania, circa early nineteenth century. Artist unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
George McClellan. Daguerreotype by firm of John Plumbe, Jr. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jefferson Medical College at the Tivoli Theater, 1825–1829. Lithograph by Frank J. Taylor. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
“Surgery on Nathaniel Dickey” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1846). From the Author’s personal collection.
CHAPTER SIX
Woman posed in the Sims position for gynecological examination. James Wood Album, Historical Medical Photography Collection, Mütter Museum (HMP box 50). The image of this object is used by kind permission of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Copyright 2014 by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Used by permission.
Charles D. Meigs. Artist Unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Muscle Man. Attributed to Gaspar Becerra from Opera quae extant, omnia . . . Johannes van der Linden, 1645. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Painting by unknown artist, after Joseph Siffred Duplessis. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Portrait of Franklin Bache. Artist Unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Portrait of an Unidentified Jefferson Medical College Student. Hand-colored ambrotype by unknown photographer. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER NINE
The Clinic in the Amphitheater of Jefferson Medical College. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
College Clinic Operating Table by unknown manufacturer. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Surgeon’s Amputation Kit. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Portrait of John K. Mitchell. Artist Unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Joseph Pancoast, 1841. Artist Unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER TEN
Portrait of Thomas Dent Mütter. Painting by Thomas Sully, circa 1842. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Title page of On Recent Improvements in Surgery: An Introductory Lecture (1842) by Thomas Dent Mütter. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Drunkard’s Progress. From the Author’s Personal Collection.
“Woman with Ulcer of the Cheek” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1846). From the Author’s personal collection.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Life & Age of Woman: Stages of Woman’s Life from the Cradle to the Grave. by N. Currier. Courtesy of The Library Company of Philadelphia.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Woman with Severe Burns of the Face” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
“Man with Nose Being Reconstructed from Forehead” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Woman with Severe Burns of the Face, Before Mütter Flap Surgery” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
“Woman with Severe Burns of the Face, During Mütter Flap Surgery” woodcut (2) from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
“Woman with Severe Burns of the Face, After Mütter Flap Surgery” woodcut from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jefferson Medical College Surgery Admission Ticket. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Advertisement for Jefferson Medical College, 1846–1847 Session. From the Author’s personal collection.
Edward Robinson Squibb. Photographer Unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Title page from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author’s personal collection.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
William Thomas Green Morton Administering Ether. Engraving, etching, stipple by George R. Hall. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Illustration of Thomas Dent Mütter Ether Surgery. By David Izenberg, from JMC Clinic, student yearbook, 1929. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Chloroform Anaesthesia.” Image from Bones Books & Bell Jars by Andrea Baldeck (Philadelphia: College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 2012). Image provided by the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Photograph by Andrea Baldeck.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Portrait of Thomas Dent Mütter. Lithograph by V. F. Harrison. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Ely Building Renovations. Engraving by Richard G. Harrison, ca 1846. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Woodcuts of various patients from Lectures on the Operations of Surgery by Robert Liston, with numerous additions by Thomas Dent Mütter. From the Author
’s personal collection.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Wet specimen of two hands with gout caused by lead poisoning. Mütter Museum Collection (#2201). The image of this object is used by kind permission of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Photograph by Evi Numen. Copyright 2014 by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Used by permission.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Portrait of Thomas Dent Mütter. Photographer Unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Famous Faculty of ’41 Engraving by Robert Whitechurch. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Civil War American Flag. Manufactured by William G. Mintzer. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Portrait of Charles D. Meigs. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia (Portrait Catalog PA 131). The image of this object is used by kind permission of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Photograph by Evi Numen. Copyright 2014 by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Used by permission.
Title page of The History, Pathology, and Treatment of Puerperal Fever by Charles D. Meigs. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ely Building Renovations. Photograph by unknown photographer, n.d. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
Portrait of Carlos Finlay. Photographer Unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
President Lincoln on battlefield of Antietam, October, 1862. Courtesy of Library of Congress.
Photograph of John Hill Brinton as Soldier. Photographer Unknown. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
John Hill Brinton’s Certificate of Commission as a Brigade Surgeon of Volunteers. Engraving by John Peter Van Ness Throop and Orrameal Hinkley Throop, 1861. Courtesy of Thomas Jefferson University, Archives & Special Collections, Philadelphia.
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