Download this summary catalogue (PDF) ›COOPER, Sir Astley Paston (1768-1841)

Identity statement

Reference code(s)

GB0100 G/PP2/8-13

Title

COOPER, Sir Astley Paston (1768-1841)

Date(s)

[1800-1825]

Level of description

Collection (fonds)

Extent and medium of the unit of description (quantity, bulk, or size)

5 volumes, 2 files

Context

Name of creator(s)

Cooper, Sir, Astley, Paston, 1768-1841, 1st Baronet, surgeon

Administrative / Biographical history

Born, Brooke Hall near Norwich, 1768; educated at home; apprenticed to his uncle, William Cooper, surgeon to Guy's Hospital, 1784; soon after transferred to Henry Cline, surgeon to St Thomas's Hospital; Edinburgh Medical School, 1787-1788; Demonstrator of anatomy, St Thomas's Hospital, 1789; joint lecturer with Cline in anatomy and surgery, 1791; lectured on anatomy at the College of Surgeons, 1793-1796; Surgeon, Guy's Hospital, 1800-1825; commenced private practice; Fellow, Royal Society, 1802; made many post-mortem examinations, and often in contact with 'resurrectionists'; a founder and first treasurer, 1805, President, 1819-1820, Medical and Chirurgical Society of London; Professor of Comparative Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons, 1813; performed a small operation on George IV, 1820; baronet, 1820; examiner at the College of Surgeons, 1822; resigned his lectureship at St Thomas's, 1825; instigator of the founding of a separate medical school at Guy's Hospital, 1825; Consulting Surgeon, Guy's Hospital; President, College of Surgeons, 1827, 1836; Sergeant-Surgeon to King William IV, 1828; Vice-President, Royal Society, 1830; died, 1841. Publications include: The Anatomy and Surgical Treatment of Inguinal and Congenital Hernia (Crural and Umbilical Hernia) (printed for T Cox; sold by Messrs Johnson, etc, London, 1804); A Treatise on Dislocations, and on Fractures of the Joints (Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown; E Cox & Son, London, 1822); The Lectures of Sir Astley Cooper, Bart., F.R.S. ... on the Principles and Practice of Surgery: with additional notes and cases, by Frederick Tyrrell 3 volumes (Thomas & George Underwood, London, 1824-1827); Illustrations of the Diseases of the Breast ... In two parts (Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green: London, 1829; Lectures on the Principles and Practice of Surgery Second edition (F C Westley, London, 1830); Observations on the Structure and Diseases of the Testis (Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green; Highley & Underwood, London, 1830); The Anatomy of the Thymus Gland (Longman, Rees, Orme, Green & Brown, London, 1832).

Archival history

The prescription for chilblains was presented to Guy's Hospital Medical School Library, 1993.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Transferred from Guy's Hospital Medical School Library in 2002.

Content & structure

Scope and content

Papers of Sir Astley Paston Cooper, [1800-1825], comprising volume of notes on his lectures on surgery, delivered at St Thomas's Hospital, taken by an unidentified student, [1814-1825] (G/PP2/8), with loose manuscript notes ((G/PP2/9); three volumes of notes on his lectures on surgery, taken by an unidentified student, [1813-1825] (G/PP2/10-12); notes on his lectures on fungoid testis, taken by an unidentified student {G/PP2/13); prescription for chilblains, attributed to Sir Astley Cooper, undated, with letter concerning authenticity, 1993 (G/PP2/13b).

System of arrangement

Arranged as outlined in the scope and content.

Conditions of access & use

Conditions governing access

Open, subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification, to include one photographic ID.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Director of Archives and Corporate Records Services.

Language/scripts of material

English

Finding aids

Detailed catalogue

Allied materials

Existence and location of originals

King's College London College Archives

Related units of description

Notes of Cooper's lectures [1800-1811] held by King's College London (Reference: TH/PP Davies; TH/PP Gruggen; TH/PP Hulbert; TH/PP Rayner; TH/PP Ware; TH/PP Warren; TH/PP Williams; G/PP1/13; G/PP1/62); Correspondence and papers of Cooper are held by the Royal College of Surgeons of England; lecture notes, 1806-1807, are held by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (reference: Cooper); lecture notes, 1809-1815 (reference: MSS 1857-60, 5606) and 1816-1817 (reference: MS 7096) are held by the Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine; lecture notes, 1803-1832, are held by the McGill University, Osler Library, Canada; correspondence with Charles Lowe, 1824, held by Lincolnshire Archives (reference: Lowe); correspondence, 1823-1826, with Sir Robert Peel, held by the British Library, (reference: Add MSS 40359-90 passim); letters to T J Pettigrew, 1815-1838, held by Beinecke Library, Yale University; letters to the Duke of Wellington, 1833-1839, held by Southampton University Library (reference: MS 61).

Publication note

The Life of Sir Astley Cooper, Bart., interspersed with sketches from his note-books of distinguished contemporary characters Bransby Blake Cooper 2 volumes (John W Parker, London, 1843); The Life and Work of Astley Cooper Russell Claude Brock (Edinburgh & London, 1952).

Description control

Archivist's Note

Sources: Historical Manuscripts Commission's On-line National Register of Archives; Dictionary of National Biography CD-ROM (Oxford University Press, 1995); British Library Public On-line catalogue; Catalogue of the Printed Books and Manuscripts in the Library of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School (1491-1900) D T Bird (London, 1984); 'List of Books by Guy's Men in the Wills Library, Guy's Hospital' William Wale, in Guy's Hospital Reports Vol LXVII, 1913. Compiled by Julie Tancell as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.

Rules or conventions

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

This catalogue is made available under the Open Data Commons Attribution License. This catalogue may be updated from time to time in order to reflect additional material and/or new understandings of the material.

Date(s) of descriptions

September 2001, Revised June 2004