Box 1

Scope and Contents:

Contains notes on an experiment to "supersede the small-pox by vaccination two days after inoculation of the small-pox, by expediting the progress of the disease." The experiment involved inoculation of a 14-year-old boy in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Fansher created two punctures in each leg, two in each breast, and two in each arm, in which he administered cowpox matter. There are also notes on further experiments with vaccination on a human and using an onion.

Scope and Contents:

Correspondence in response to an inquiry from Sylvanus Fansher in which Younglove describes his experiences with smallpox and cowpox inoculation. Younglove claims to have inoculated over 1,400 individuals with only six fatalities before the advent of vaccination. The letter is written on the verso of an 1825 broadside describing Younglove's treatment for smallpox patients.

Scope and Contents:

Contains a table of contents and numbered list of plates used in an untitled publication on smallpox and cowpox vaccination.

Scope and Contents:

Contains Fansher's announcement and description of his "new and improved method of constructing windowsash fastening."

Scope and Contents:

Copy of correspondence to President Martin Van Buren advocating the establishment of a national smallpox vaccine program, and describing his memorial to Congress regarding the same, delivered on April 18, 1838. On the verso is an undated announcement of a scientific exhibition in Hartford showcasing a camera obscura.

Scope and Contents:

Correspondence responding to a letter from Fansher, in which Lambert indicates his medical practice was going well and that he had several "highly respectable" families to vaccinate. Lambert further offers to assist Fansher with writing a treatise on vaccinations.

Scope and Contents:

Contains correspondence from Chester Fansher and other relatives offering news and updates on their family life and state of health.

Scope and Contents:

Draft of a circular on smallpox and the history of smallpox vaccination in Europe.

Scope and Contents:

Logbook of Fansher's smallpox vaccination cases with information on the patient name, age, and how the vaccine matter was introduced. There are also notes on the success of the vaccination, vaccine "seeds," and spurious cases.

Scope and Contents:

Contains crossed out sections of a draft of Fansher's memorial to Congress about smallpox, followed by a three-page manuscript address on capital punishment, in which he advocates life in prison rather than execution for convicted murderers.

Scope and Contents:

Contains Fansher's observations on his smallpox inoculation research and experiments and a four-page draft of manuscript address or essay by Fansher on cowpox and vaccination. There is also a slip of paper that reads, "Addresses Medical Society."

Scope and Contents:

Contains notes by Fansher on the introduction of inoculation in America in 1800 by Harvard Medical School professor Benjamin Waterhouse (1754-1846). Fansher writes that the origins of cowpox remained unknown, but suggests cows may contract the disease after coming into contact with briars.

Scope and Contents:

Contains a description of Fansher's treatments for scarlet fever and other epidemics and a notice that Fansher would be at a town hall offering smallpox vaccination and "super vaccination" to the public. There are also recipes for assorted syrups for conditions like cough and worms.

Scope and Contents: Contains a draft message to Congress regarding establishment of a national smallpox vaccination program that would work in conjunction with similar efforts in Europe and South America. Fansher notes he has already presented his plan to the Court of Saint James in London, and he requests authorization to award gold and silver medals and diplomas to "those who shall write the best essay on the annihilation of small pox, and to those who otherwise can contribute much to promote this good work."...