Item #18173 Late 19th, Early 20th Century Copperplate Woodblock Featuring the Images of Spanish-American War Nurse Clara Maass, as well as Walter Reed
Late 19th, Early 20th Century Copperplate Woodblock Featuring the Images of Spanish-American War Nurse Clara Maass, as well as Walter Reed
Late 19th, Early 20th Century Copperplate Woodblock Featuring the Images of Spanish-American War Nurse Clara Maass, as well as Walter Reed
Late 19th, Early 20th Century Copperplate Woodblock Featuring the Images of Spanish-American War Nurse Clara Maass, as well as Walter Reed
Late 19th, Early 20th Century Copperplate Woodblock Featuring the Images of Spanish-American War Nurse Clara Maass, as well as Walter Reed
Late 19th, Early 20th Century Copperplate Woodblock Featuring the Images of Spanish-American War Nurse Clara Maass, as well as Walter Reed

Exceptional Turn-of-the-Century American Medical History

Late 19th, Early 20th Century Copperplate Woodblock Featuring the Images of Spanish-American War Nurse Clara Maass, as well as Walter Reed

Very Good. Item #18173

An incredible, one-of-a-kind late 19th, early 20th-century copperplate woodblock featuring the images of nurse Clara Maass, and influential U.S. Army physician Walter Reed.

Both figures were instrumental in the advancement of research and treatment of mosquito-born illnesses such as yellow fever and typhoid.

Reed was a US Army doctor "who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species rather than by direct contact. This insight gave impetus to the new fields of epidemiology and biomedicine, and most immediately allowed the resumption and completion of work on the Panama Canal (1904–1914) by the United States. Reed followed work started by Finlay and directed by George Miller Sternberg, who has been called the "first U.S. bacteriologist".

Maass was a US Army nurse during the Spanish-American War. "In March 1901, Maass volunteered to be bitten by a Culex fasciata mosquito (now called Aedes aegypti) that had been allowed to feed on yellow fever patients. Out of 19 volunteers, she was the only female and American. By this time, the researchers were certain that mosquitoes were the route of transmission, but lacked the scientific evidence to prove it because some volunteers who were bitten remained healthy. Maass continued to volunteer for experiments and would send her mother all of the money she was given.

"Maass was first bitten by mosquitoes in March of 1901, and then again in May, June, and finally in August. In those months she had come in contact with the yellow fever mosquitoes seven times. During her first bite, she had become ill but had only showed minor symptoms; this led researchers to believe that she was not immune, so they continued to research and test with Clara as their live subject." Maass would succumb to these mosquito bites, giving her life for the advancement of medicine.

This irregular-shaped woodblock is approximately 7/8" thick with a layer of copper on the top, featuring the two negative images, with the larger of the two, Maass, on the left and the smaller image of Reed at the upper right.

The larger portion of the block, that featuring Maass, measures 4" X 3 5/8", while the small portion measures 2" X 1 3/8".

Protectively housed in a clear-topped box surrounded by foam. In excellent condition, this historic piece is an authentic piece of turn-of-the-century American medical history.

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