Kaaterskill Books

Three Letters to Valentine Mott. American Surgeon Pioneer & Founder of NYU' s Department of Surgery

[Mott, Valentine]; Johns, William; Hitchcock, John W.; Hannen, J.C.

[ALSs] Three Letters from Friends & Former Students to New York Surgeon & Professor Valentine Mott.

Philadelphia; New York; Utica: 1811-1864. 3 pieces. Very good collection, minor tearing, light soiling and ink staining. Item #45431

Considered to be a highly influential pioneer of American surgery, Valentine Mott (1785-1865) graduated from Columbia Medical College in 1806, before studying in London with a group of renowned surgeons there. When he returned to New York City in 1809, he was able to attain a series of prestigious positions, including posts at Columbia, Rutgers Med, and University City of New York. Known particularly for his proficiency in vascular surgery, Mott had a reputation for being a skillful, dedicated, and considerate physician.

The three letters span over half a century of Mott's professional life, and illustrate his influence on others who pursued careers in the medical field. Contents include:

(1) Dr. William Johns, Philadelphia, with integral address to Dr. Mott, Water Street, NY. 1811. Bifolium. 2pp. 8 1/2 x 7 inches. Johns thanks Mott for the attention paid to him while he was in New York, and says he will keep him in his thoughts while he departs overseas, "immersed in the concerns of Hindoos, surrounded by a people of strange language, manners, & customs, and in spirit approach his throne who requires the adoration of the heart..." Johns comments on Mott's early professional success, and tells him, "....I shall listen to your growing fame in New York not only in the city, but in the district, not only in that state but in all the states ..."

(2) John W. Hitchcock, Utica, with integral address to Professor Mott, 21 Park Place. March 9th, 1830. Bifolium. 2pp. 10 x 8 inches. Hitchcock, a pupil of Mott's, apologizes for the lateness of his thesis, and hopes to arrange for his diploma to be sent to a relation of his, a Mr. A. Van Santvoord, in time for an upcoming meeting of the Medical Society of Oneida County. "I think if any objection is made to the diploma, on the supposition of its being invalid, that my friends who are well disposed towards the Rutgers' College, can correct the erroneous impression which may have been conveyed by the partial statement of the opposition and inspire that respect which they feel toward the professor of the 'New School'."

(3) J.C. Hannen, New York, marked "Private", to Professor Valentine Mott, Medical Department, University of New York, March 10th, 1864/ Bifoium. 3 pp. 11x8 inches. Flattering & lengthy letter from a student, recounting his long, arduous effort to study under him. "Having for a long time a most ardent desire of becoming a student of yours, but not possessing the necessary requirements to obtain such a privilege, notwithstanding that I have toiled hard for it the last ten years; so that now, I am compelled to cover up the wish with a veil of deep regret... I have been teaching school for a long time past and might have enough to carry me through independently of the world, but having an invalid Sister to take care of and a younger brother to educate, I was obliged to neglect myself." Hannen, while teaching Brooklyn was finally able to enroll, "I would receive the like privileges at either of the other Institutions but I gave 14 St the preference on your account solely.... I covet no man's signature to my diploma more than Doct. Valentine Mott's of America..." In his closing, Hannen comments that he was transcribing Mott's "Travels in Europe and the East," and hopes Mott will permit him to write a preface. "Thanking you most kindly for the good, I have received from the course you have just terminated - a course of Lecturing imbued with kindness and fraught with humanity."

References:
1. Ira Rutkow, “Valentine Mott (1785–1865), the Father of American Vascular Surgery: A Historical Perspective,” Surgery 85 (1979): 441–50; 2. National Library of Medicine: 16531364; 3. American National Biography: article.1200650.

Price: $250.00