Overview
The Casper Morley Epsteen papers, 1928-1983 (inclusive), 1950s-1979 (bulk), consist of records generated as a product of Epsteen's career as a maxillofacial surgeon, professor, and active member of the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons (founded 1947) and the American Board of Maxillofacial Surgery (founded 1946).
Dates
- Creation: 1928-1983 (inclusive),
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1950-1979 .
Creator
- Epsteen, Casper Morley, 1902-1995. (Person)
Language of Materials
Papers are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Access requires advance notice. Access to personal and patient information is restricted for 80 years from the date of creation. These restrictions are noted with folders where they appear in Series II and III. Researchers may apply for access to restricted records. Consult Public Services for further information.
The Papers are stored offsite. Researchers are advised to consult Public Services for further information concerning retrieval of material.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all materials in the collection. Researchers are responsible for identifying and contacting any third-party copyright holders for permission to reproduce or publish. For more information on the Center's use, publication, and reproduction policies, view our Reproductions and Use Policy.
Extent
03 cubic feet (3 records center cartons)The Casper Morley Epsteen papers, 1928-1983 (inclusive), 1950s-1970s (bulk), consist of records associated with his professional career as a maxillofacial surgeon, professor, and active member of the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons (founded 1947), and American Board of Maxillofacial Surgery (founded 1946). Throughout his career, Epsteen served the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons in a number of capacities including, Secretary-Treasurer (1950-1951), Secretary General (1951-1952), and President (1960).
The papers are divided into three series: I. Professional Activities (1948-1983), which consist of administrative records generated by as a result of his service to the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons and the American Board of Maxillofacial Surgery; Correspondence and Writings, which includes personal letters to his former students, John Drummond and Melvin Spira, addresses he presented at American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeon Conferences, the manuscript “Twenty-Five Case Histories Presented to the American College of Surgeons,” and assorted publications III. Visual Materials, which include photographs, negatives, diagrams, x-rays, and teaching slides primarily depicting maxillofacial fractures and different types of cysts, cancer, foreign bodies, and tumors.
The Papers are entirely in English.
Biographical Notes
Casper Morley Epsteen (1902-1995), B.S., 1923, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago; M.D., 1925, University of Illinois College of Medicine; D.D.S., 1930, Loyola University Chicago College of Dentistry, was a senior attending surgeon at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, a Professor of Maxillofacial Surgery at Cook County Graduate School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, and a clinical professor of Maxillofacial and Plastic Surgery at Chicago Medical School. A maxillofacial surgeon, Epsteen helped found the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons in 1947, an organization he served throughout his life.
Casper Morley Epsteen was born 6 May 1902 in East Chicago, Indiana, to Hymen and Sarah Epsteen. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois where Epsteen attended public school. From 1918 to 1919, Epsteen attended the University of Chicago, ultimately changing his focus from engineering to medicine. In 1920, he enrolled in University of Illinois College of Pharmacy, and subsequently the University of Illinois College of Medicine, ultimately receiving his Bachelor of Science in 1923 and his Doctorate of Medicine in 1925. Before interning at Michael Reese Hospital, Epsteen was interested in neurosurgery, but upon meeting and training under Truman William Brophy (1848-1928), who was regarded for his work on cleft palates and lips, selected maxillofacial surgery as his specialty. Epsteen matriculated into Loyola University Chicago College of Dentistry in 1926 and graduated with a Doctorate of Dental Surgery degree in 1930; Epsteen pursued postgraduate studies in maxillofacial surgery at the University of Pennsylvania under the tutelage of Robert Henry Ivy (1881-1974). During World War II, Epsteen served in the United States Army (1942-1946) in a number of capacities that Ivy, a consultant to the army at the time, helped to secure. In addition to teaching at Walter Reed Hospital, Epsteen was: Chief of Surgery at the 308th General Hospital (1942-1943) and at 167th Station; Chief of the United States Army Burn Center in England (1943-1944); Chief of Plastic Surgery at Kennedy General Hospital (1944); temporarily a part of the Royal Air Force caring for troops from Ely and Cambridgeshire, England (August-September 1944); and Chief of Plastic Surgery at the Mayo General Hospital (1945). He retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
For over fifty years, Epsteen served as the senior surgeon of Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, twenty-five as head of the maxillofacial department. Epsteen was also a surgeon at Cook County Hospital of Chicago from 1947 to 1959, where he was the chairman of his department for ten years. In addition to his posts at Michael Reese and Cook County Hospitals, Epsteen was consulting staff for: Chicago Memorial Hospital (1932-1948); Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago (1946-1980s); Memorial Hospital of Springfield in Springfield, Illinois (1947-1963); Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago (1953-1974); and Central Community Hospital in Chicago (1964-1980s). Epsteen attended to various types of maxillofacial conditions throughout his career including the four thousand operations he performed on children with cleft palates. Many of these children were sent to him by the Department of Public Welfare. Along with his responsibilities as a surgeon, Epsteen was also a teacher, serving as an instructor of anatomy at University of Illinois College of Medicine (1923), instructor of pathology at University of Illinois College of Medicine (1924), professor of maxillofacial surgery at Cook County Graduate School (1947-1959), and clinical professor of maxillofacial and plastic surgery at Chicago Medical School (1962-1980s).
Epsteen took an active role in shaping both his professional and civic communities. Epsteen founded and organized the South Side Medical Assembly in 1938, which became the forerunner of the Annual Clinical Conference of the Chicago Medical Conference. One of Epsteen’s major pursuits was establishing and developing the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons. In August of 1939 at a meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Epsteen and Carl Waldron conceived of the idea of an organization focused on the emerging discipline of maxillofacial surgery. Due to World War II, the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons was not formally instituted until 1946. Epsteen served as the Society’s secretary-treasurer (1947-1950), secretary general (1951-1955), and president (1960). He also played a central part on the organization’s different committees, including the nominating, constitution and by-laws, medical economics and legislation, research, and American Medical Association and plastic surgery liaison (chairman, 1972) committees. Epsteen is the recipient of many awards, among them: honor awards from Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center (1955) and Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital (1960); a leadership award from the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons (1960); a distinguished membership award from The American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons (1966); and a distinguished alumnus of the University of Illinois College of Medicine (1984). He was guest editor of the American Journal of Surgery in 1971.
On 26 September 1934, Epsteen married Aline Grossman; they had two children, Lynn and Robert.
Series and Subseries in the Collection
- I. Professional Activities Records, 1937-1983
- ___ A. American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeon Records, 1937-1983
- ___ B. American Board of Maxillofacial Surger Records, 1940s-1980s
- II. Correspondence and Writings, 1928, 1949-1982
- III. Visual Materials, 1930s-1970s
- ___ A. Cysts, Cancer, Foreign Bodies, and Tumors, 1930s-1970s
- ___ B. Dislocations, 1930s-1970s
- ___ C. Embryos,1960-1961
- ___D. Fractures, 1930s-1970s
- ______ 1. General, 1930s-1970s
- ______ 2. Mandibles, 1930s-1970s
- ______ 3. Maxillas and Zygomas, 1930s-1970s
- ______ 4. Skulls, 1930s-1970s
- ___ E. Jaw Muscles, 1930s-1970s
- ___ F. Miscellaneous,1930s-1970s
- ___ G. Notes,1930s-1970s
- ___ H. Teaching Slides,1930s-1970s
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Casper Morley Epsteen papers were donated in 1983 to the Harvard Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine through the National Archives of Plastic Surgery.
Separations
Maxillofacial surgical instruments used by Casper Morley Epsteen were transferred to the Warren Anatomical Museum in 2014 July (Accession number 2014.019).
Processing Information
Processed by Gabrielle Barr under the supervision of Emily R. Novak Gustainis, 2014 July.
Processing staff in the Center for the History of Medicine analyzed, arranged, and described the papers, and created a finding aid to improve access. Where necessary, records were photocopied to acid-free paper, slides were put into plastic sleeves, and glass plate negatives were rehoused in slide boxes. For Series I and II, folder titles were transcribed from the originals; for folders within Series III and materials of different formats relating to the same subect, titles were devised by the processor.
Genre / Form
Occupation
Topical
- Cancer.
- Diagnostic Imaging
- Diagnostic imaging.
- Dislocations--Diagnosis
- Dislocations--Diagnosis.
- Embryonic Structures
- Fractures.
- Human Embryo.
- Jaw Fractures
- Mandibular Fractures
- Maxillary Fractures
- Neoplasms--Diagnosis
- Skull Fractures
- Surgery, Plastic
- Surgery, Plastic.
- Surgery, Specialties
- Zygomatic Fractures
Subject
- Epsteen, Casper Morley, 1902-1995. (Person)
- American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons. (Organization)
Creator
- Epsteen, Casper Morley, 1902-1995. (Person)
- Title
- Epsteen, Casper Morley, 1902-1995. Papers, 1928-1983 (inclusive), 1950-1979 (bulk): Finding Aid
- Author
- Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine.
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- med00196
Repository Details
Part of the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine) Repository
The Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine is one of the world's leading resources for the study of the history of health and medicine. Our mission is to enable the history of medicine and public health to inform healthcare, the health sciences, and the societies in which they are embedded.