Benjamin Rush Signed University of Pennsylvania Medical Diploma

Item Details

An 1808 University of Pennsylvania Doctorate in Medical Arts diploma awarded to Johannem Perkin signed by United States ‘Founding Father’ Benjamin Rush (ca. 1745–1813) and other prominent medical practitioners of the time. Rush was a leader in the American Enlightenment, advocating reforms in medicine, education, and the penal system including free public schools and better education for women. A supporter of the Revolution he attended the Continent Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence, and was a leader in Pennsylvania’s ratification of the Constitution in 1788. He served as Surgeon General of the Continental Army, as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, founded Dickinson College, and is considered one of the founders of American psychiatry. This document includes signatures from additional prominent medical practitioners including Philip Syng Physick ‘Father of American Surgery’, Caspar Wistar and more. The document is presented with an intaglio print of Benjamin Rush, behind glass, behind a black mat, in a black and gold metal frame wired for hanging. Philadelphia, April, 1808. DS 1 page, vellum, large folio. The piece is accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from James Spence Authentication.

Provenance: ex Paul C. Richards Autographs

• The autograph(s) on this item were visually inspected by a third-party authenticator and have received a “pass” in their pass/fail visual inspection test. An Auction Letter of Authenticity (ALOA) will be mailed to the winning bidder following the sale.

Condition

- some discoloration to document, creases in the center of document.

Dimensions

- measures the frame; visible image dimensions: 25"W x 19.5"H

Item #

18ATL034-132