JENNER EDWARD: (1749-1823) English Physician & Scientist, the pioneer of smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. An extremely rare and significant manuscript notebook, unsigned, the tall 8vo bound volume compiled by Jenner, comprising over 100 pages of holograph text (and some original illustrations and diagrams), n.p., n.d. (c.1822/23), being Jenner's transcripts of contemporary scientific texts relating to meteorology. Jenner's notes explore the various aspects of contemporary meteorology, including the observations and discoveries of leading academics including William Falconer, Luke Howard and Thomas Forster and cover a wide variety of meteorological subjects from instrumentation ('a complete apparatus of meteorological instruments should include the Barometer, Thermometer, Hydrometer, Photometer, Athrioscope, Cynometer') through to the influence of flora and fauna ('Animal effluvia as well as vegetable are capable of being mixed with the air, and suspended in it. These are now generally esteemed to be the cause or source of fevers of the malignant or contagious kind'). The comprehensive notebook includes texts from various publications, essays and papers, a few extracts of which include - 'The analysis of the atmosphere is one of the finest discoveries of modern Chemistry. It appears to consist of two distinct expansible fluids contained in different proportions, a single portion of oxygen gas being united to three parts by weight, or four parts by bulk, of azote. There is also a very slight admixture of carbonic acid gas, accounting perhaps to a thousandth part of the whole', from the Supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica written by Sir John Leslie between 1815-24, 'It is the frequent observation of the countenance of the sky, and of its connection with the present and ensuing phaenomena, that constitutes the antient and popular meteorology. The want of this branch of knowledge renders the predictions of the philosopher, who is attending only to his instruments less generally successful than those of the weather-wise mariner or husbandman', from the Philosophical Magazine, (Vol. XVI, London, 1803. Article XVIII), 'On the Modifications of Clouds, and on the Principles of their Production, Suspension and Destruction'; being the substance of an Essay read before the Askesian Society in the Session 1802-3, by Luke Howard, 'One of the principle uses of meteorology is, that it enables us to predict, in some measure, the ensuing changes of the weather. To do this accurately, a familiar acquaintance with the modification of the clouds, and indeed with all the operations which are going on above, appears necessary. When two or more contrary indications appear, the result must be deduced from those which ultimately prevail; & that when several agreeable signs appear, the event may be predicted with additional certainty…some animals express signs of uneasiness previous to an alteration of the weather long before there are any visible signs of a change. Dogs for instance become very drowsy & stupid before rain & their ears are sometimes found considerably inflamed….cats though in a less degree are affected in the same manner - and a leech, confined in a glass of water, has been found, by its rapid motions…to indicate fair or wet weather. Peculiarities in the electric state of the atmosphere may…affect the constitution of animals in the same manner as they appear to do ours, & thereby excite pleasurable or uneasy sensations', from the 'Researches about Atmospheric Phaenomena etc.' by Thomas Forster (London, 1813), 'The sound of bells heard form a great distance is a sign of wind, or a change of weather. When sea fowl and other aquatic birds return to the sea shore or marshes it indicates a change of weather and a sudden storm. When frogs croak much, toad crawl out in the evening, when earth worm come forth, ants remove their eggs, moles throw up earth, asses frequently shake and agitate their ears', from the 'Monthly Magazine or British Register' (Vol. 35, London, 1813) and 'An Account of Ireland, Statistical and Political' by Edward Wakefield,On two pages at the centre of the journal there can be found Jenner's grey & black water colour depictions of cloud types, faithfully rendered in the style of the originals as they appear in Luke Howard's On the Modification of Clouds (1803).A third original illustration has been neatly excised from its page. Bound in the original, plain dark cloth boards (some light staining and age wear) and with a pencil ownership signature and address to the front free endpaper of a Miss Perkins & Dr Perry of 3 Priory Street, Everton. Some light staining and age wear throughout, the text however completely legible and not significantly affected in any way. Generally G A fascinating and remarkable meteorological record compiled by Jenner for his personal reference. Jenner's interest in meteorology is not well documented, however, it would undoubtedly have been a subject of great importance to him in association with his experimentation with ballooning and his studies of bird migration. The present notebook offers a unique insight into the aspects of meteorology he most desired to understand.It was in 1784 that Jenner was to make his first tentative steps at being a balloonist. Influenced by his close friend, the surgeon William F. Shrapnell, Jenner carried out his first aeronautical experiment based on a balloon deign supplied by boyhood friend Dr. Caleb Parry. Jenner wrote 'your directions respecting the Balloon are so clear and explicit, 'tis impossible for me to blunder; but to make it quite a certainty, I intend first to fill it and see if it will float in the Castle-Hall, before the public exhibition. Should it prove unwilling to mount and turn shy before a large assembly, don't you think I may make my escape under the cover of three or four dozen Squibs and Crackers?' Subsequently, Jenner became known for his studies on the migrating Cuckoo, which were published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1788) and later in the posthumously published, Some Observations on the Migration of Birds (1824). It was not until the 18th century that significant progress occurred in the study of meteorology, so whilst little is known of Jenner's attraction to this interdisciplinary branch of science we can be sure that in these early days, Jenner was there to appreciate its importance. His forays into ballooning and the serious study of migration were undoubtedly made more pleasurable to his scientific mind by the knowledge he had gained in the study of meteorology. Jenner is frequently referred to as the 'father of immunology' and his work is said to have saved more lives than the work of any other human. A member of the Royal Society, in the field of zoology he was the first person to describe the brood parasitism of the cuckoo. In 2002 Jenner was named in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons.We are indebted to Mark Beswick, Archive Information Officer of the Met Office National Meteorological Archive and to Owen Gower, Manager of Dr. Jenner's House, Museum & Garden in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, for their assistance with the present lot.
