CHARCOT, JEAN MARTIN. 1825-1893.


Two Autograph Letters Signed ("Charcot") in French: 1. to "cher colligue et ami," probably Alphonse Daudet, thanking him for dedicating his "plus belles 'observations'" to him, 1 p, 8vo, Paris, November 6, 1882, on his Quai Malaquois letterhead, pencil note to upper corner re: Daudet's L'evangeliste;2. to "Cher confrere et ami," discussing his own declining health, 1 p, 8vo, Paris, December 30, 1891, on his Boulevard St-Germain letterhead.Often called THE FATHER OF NEUROLOGY Jean Martin Charcot was one of the most influential physicians of the second half of the nineteenth century, and his students included Sigmund Freud among others. "Among the multitude of names that illumine the pages of neurology none shines with greater brilliance than that of Charcot" (Haymaker, The Founders of Neurology Springfield, 1970, pp 420-424). Alphonse Daudet dedicated his L'evangeliste, which appeared in Figaro on December 6, 1882, and was published early 1883, to Charcot, "Je dedie cette observation." Daudet often referred to the work as his clinical observation, echoing Charcot's language in the first letter. Accompanied by a photogravure of Pierre-Andre Brouillet's painting of Charcot exhibiting a patient to his class at the Salpêtrière.