An Important Collection of 18 Papers documenting The History of DNA, An important collection of 18 papers documenting one of the most important scientific milestones of the twentieth century, recording the discovery of the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the early research that lead to its discovery as well as later papers on the DNA, the main component of chromosomes and the material that transfers genetic characteristics in all life forms. From ‘One Hundred Books Famous in Medicine, p. 362’, “Forty years after Watson and Crick's discovery, so much of the basic understanding of medicine and disease has advanced to the molecular level that their paper may be considered the most significant single contribution to biology and medicine in the twentieth century”. The double helix describing the molecular structure of DNA has not only reshaped biology, it has become a cultural icon, represented in sculpture, visual art, jewellery, and toys. In 1962, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material." By the early 1950s DNA had become one of the most important questions in biology. Maurice Wilkins of King's College London and his colleague Rosalind Franklin were both working on DNA, with Franklin producing X-ray diffraction images of its structure. Wilkins also introduced his friend Francis Crick to the subject, and Crick and his partner James Watson began their own investigation at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, focusing on building molecular models. After one failed attempt in which they postulated a triple-helix structure, they were banned by the Cavendish from spending any additional time on the subject. But a year later, after seeing new X-ray diffraction images taken by Franklin (notably the famous 'Photo 51'), they resumed their work and soon announced that not only had they discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, but even more importantly, that "the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material."1. 1952 - Letters To The Editor: Evidence for the Pauling-Cory α-Helix in Synthetic Polypeptides, W. Cochran, F. H. C. Crick, Nature, February 9, 1952, vol 169, p.234-p.235, bound volume, library stamp for ‘Bibliothek d. Max Panck-Instituts fur Chemie’2. 1952 - Letters to the Editors, Is α-Keratin a coiled coil?, by F. H. C. Crick, Nature, November 22, 1952, p.883, bound volume 170 July – Dec 19523. 1953 - Helical Structure of Crystalline Deoxypentose Nucleic Acid, By Dr. M. H. F. Wilkins, and Dr. W. E. Seeds, Dr. A. R. Stokes and Dr. H. R. Wilson, Nature October 24, 1953, No.4382 p.759 – p7.624. 1953 - Evidence for 2-Chain Helix in Crystalline Structure of Sodium Deoxyribonucleate, by Rosalind E. Franklin and R. G. Gosling, Nature, July 25, 1953, vol.172, p.156-p.157, original wrappers and adverts.5. 1954 - The Structure of the Hereditary Material, by F. H. C. Crick, Scientific American, October 1954, p.45-p61, original wrappers and adverts.6. 1955 - Structure of Tobacco Mosaic Virus, by Dr. Rosalind E. Franklin, Nature, February 26, 1955, no.4452, , p.379-p.381, library stamp for Shell Chemical Company Limited, Library, bound volume 175 Jan-June 1955 Also in the same bound volume: Molecular Structure of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid and Nucleoprotein, by M. Feughelman, R. Langridge, Dr. W. E. Seeds, and Dr. H. R. Wilson, Wheatstone Physics Laboratory, Kings College London, C. W. Hopper and Dr. M. H. F. Wilkins, Medical Research Council Biophysics Research Unit, Kings College London, Dr. R. K. Barclay and Dr. L. D. Hamilton, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, Nature, May 14, 1955, Vol.175, p.834-p.8387. 1955 - Structure of Polyglycine II, by Dr. F. H. C. Crick and Dr. Alexander Rich, Nature, October 1955, Vol.176, p.780-p.781, Shell Chemical Company Limited, Library, bound volume 176 Jul-Dec 1955 Also in the same bound volume: The Structure of Collagen, by Dr. Alexander Rich and Dr. F. H. C. Crick, Nature, November 12 1955, No.4489, p.915-p.916,8. 1956 - Structure of Small Viruses, by F. H. C. Crick and J. D. Watson, Nature, March 10, 1956, No.4506, p473-p.475, bound volume 177 Jan-June 1956 Also in the same bound volume: Structure of Tobacco Mosaic Virus, by D. L. D. Caspar, Nature, May 19, 1956, No.4516, p.928 And Location of the Ribonucleic Acid in the Tobacco Mosaic Virus Particle, Nature, May 19, 1956, No.4516, p.928-p.9309. 1957 - Nucleic Acids, by F. H. C. Crick, reprinted from Scientific American September 1957, 11 pages10. 1958 - Absence of Phosphotriester Linkages in Tobacco Mosaic Virus, By D.E. Koshland, Jr., Norman S. Simmons and J. D. Watson, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.80 January 5 1958, p.105-p.107, bound volume with end papers11. 1962 - The Genetic Code, American Scientific, October 1962, p.66-p.74,12. 1962 - Messenger-RNA Attachment to Active Ribosomes, By R. W. Risebrough, A Tissieress, and J. D. Watson, Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences of the united States of America, vol 48, March 1962, Number 3, p.430-p.436, bound volume Also in the same bound volume: Breakdown of Messenger RNA In Vitro Amina Acid Incorporation into Proteins, By A. Tissieres & J. D. Watson, Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences of the united States of America, vol 48, June 1962, Number 6, p.1061-p.1069, bound volume13. 1962 - Determination of the Helical Configuration of Ribonucleic Acid Molecules by X-ray Diffraction study of Crystalline Amino-Acid Transfer Ribonucleic Acid, by Dr. M. Spencer, Dr. W. Fuller, Dr. M. H. F. Wilkins, F.R.S., and Dr.G. L. Brown, Nature, June 16, 1962, No.4333, p.1014-p.1020, bound volume with all end papers and adverts.14. 1966 - The Genetic Code: III, by F. H. C. Crick, Scientific American, October 1966, p.55-p.62, original wrappers and adverts15. 1972 - Aharon Katzir Katchalsky, note on his death, F. H. C. Crick, Nature Vol 237, June 9 1972, p.357, bound volume, library stamp for ‘Strangeways Research Laboratory Library Cambridge’, For the better part of two years, Crick worked on the physical properties of cytoplasm at Cambridge's Strangeways Research Laboratory, headed by Honor Bridget Fell, with a Medical Research Council studentship, until he joined Max Perutz and John Kendrew at the Cavendish Laboratory.16. 1993 - The Double Helix – Watson & Crick’s ‘freak find’ of how like begats like, JAMA, February 24, 1993 Vol269 No.8 p.1040-p.1045, bound volume17. 2003 - The Double Helix – 50 Years, Nature, 23 January 2003, reprint of the 1953 paper Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids, original wrappers and adverts18. A structure for deoxyribose acid, and Molecular structure of deoxypentose nucleic acids, and Molecular configuration in sodium thymonucleate. Watson, Crick, Wilkins, Franklin, et al. Milestone articles from Nature 1953, vol 171, in The double helix – 50 years. Nature 2003, vol 421. Volume bound with original wrappers and adds in all issues
