Papers of Joseph Needham as a historian of Chinese science, technology and medicine

The binder is fitted with alpahbetised sub-dividers and Joseph Needham has compiled a key to the contents. Topics include literature; letters; illustrations; symptoms; transmission; variolation outside China; vaccination. The notes are loosely inserted between the dividers and not fixed. Many of the headings contain no notes and others appear to have been misfiled. A substantial number of number of documents have been placed at the beginning of the folder in no particular category. These include notes (mainly on the history of smallpox); photocopied pages from C. Dixon, 'Smallpox', (London, 1962), concerning Lady Mary Wortley Montagu who was responsible for the introduction of variolation into England and experiments conducted in Newgate Prison in the early 18th century; file labelled «????»[Tou Kho Ta Chhuan/ Dou Ke Da Quan], containing a letter from Beijing Library to Lu Gwei-Djen about the book, (20 March 1979) and Lu's notes; cutting of an 'Observer' article entitled 'The Killer that Slipped through the Net', (21 January 1962); cutting of a 'Times' article entitled 'Diagnosing disease in ancient man', (29 February 1968); copy of «??»[Kho Hsueh / Ke Xue], including an article entitled «??????????» [Hsi Yang Chung Tou Fa Chu Chhuan Chung Kuo Khao / Xi Yang Zhong Dou Fa Chu Chuan Zhong Guo Kao], (July 1950); cutting of a 'Ta Kung Pao' article entitled 'Laser acupuncture cures barenness of dairy cows', (10 January 1984); copy of an article entiteld 'Acupuncture Criticised by Chinese Doctors', ('Europe and China', February 1981); copy of an article entitled 'New Morphine-Like Substance Identified in Human Brain', ('Europe and China', February 1981); copy of a letter from Gregory Blue of the East Asian History of Science Library, Cambridge, to the Editor of 'The Sciences', (U.S.A.), about requests received for copies of the article entitled 'A scientific basis for acupuncture?', (6 August 1980); cutting of a 'Times' article entitled 'Benjamin Jesty's Claim: Dorest Farmer who was early Pioneer of Vaccination for Smallpox', (6 Febraury 1962).

Illustrations comprise a photograph of instruments for performing protective inoculation against smallpox, [Undated]; illustrations of smallpox sufferers and inoculation from Chinese works.

'Letters' comprise copies of 2 letters from Joseph Needham to Hou Bao-Chang [??? / Hou Baozhang], asking for advice on the most important references to vaccination in Tang and Sung books, (7 June 1948 and 21 March 1949); copy of a letter from Lu Gwei-Djen to Dr. Miyashita Saburo of Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd., Osaka, Japan, enquiring about the «????»[Tou Kho Ta Chhuan/ Dou Ke Da Quan], (16 October 1978); copy of Miyashita's reply to Lu, (2 November 1978); 2 letters from Frank Fenner of the Australian National University, Melbourne, to Lu Gwei Djen, about his work on smallpox, (4 September 1978 and 8 February 1979); copy of 1 letter from Joseph Needham to Fenner, (18 September 1978); copy of 1 letter from Lu to Fenner, (20 February 1979); letter from P E Razzell of Bedford College, University of London, about his study of variolation and smallpox vaccination in the 18th and 19th centuries, (15 June 1976); letter from Donald R Hopkins of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., enquiring about a reference to a smallpox epidemic in China in 497 A.D., (2 August 1976).

In addition to notes, the section on 'Transmission' includes a letter from Susan [?] of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, providing a reference to smallpox in Turkey, (24 October 1974)