Louis Pasteur

ALS in French, signed “L. Pasteur,” one page, 4.5 x 6.75, May 14, 1886. Handwritten letter expressing his appreciation for an illustration by A. Gerardin, which appeared in the French illustrated weekly newspaper L'Illustration in 1886 and showed some of the rabies patients under his care. Matted and framed with an engraved portrait and an explanatory letter by his son-in-law, René Vallery-Radot, to an overall size of 21.25 x 12. In fine condition.

Soon after beginning his experimental inoculation treatment for rabies, Louis Pasteur received hundreds of bite victims from across Europe and the United States, including severely injured Russian peasants attacked by a rabid wolf and English children bitten by a mad dog, all seeking his preventative care in Paris. Despite the grave nature of many wounds and intense public attention, Pasteur’s method had resulted in only two deaths at the time, one due to extreme injuries and another from receiving treatment too late.