Rare Edward Jenner letter expected to be sold for over £5,000 at West Country auction
It was written in 1802
Last updated 15th Jun 2021
A rare letter, written by the founding father of vaccinations, is going under the hammer at an auction in the South West.
Dr Edward Jenner's manuscript was sent to fellow physician Dr John Glover Loy, who aided his pioneering work, in 1802.
Research from Dr Loy had proven Jenner's hypothesis that the origins of cowpox was a disease of horses - known as horsepox or 'grease'.
This subsequently supported the role of horsepox in tackling smallpox, which was fully eradicated worldwide in 1980.
The unpublished letter has been passed-down through Dr Loy's family since the 19th century. With vaccinations increasingly in the public consciousness during the COVID-19 pandemic, his descendants have opted to cash-in on the item now.
Dominic Winter's auction house in South Cerney, near Cirencester, is expecting sell the letter for between £5,000 and £8,000.
'The story has been reignited'
Chris Albury is an auctioneer at Dominic Winter and used to run second-hand book shop 'Jenner Old and Rare Medical Books'.
He told Greatest Hits Radio: "Jenner was way ahead of his time. There were lots of people who were trying to work out how to stop smallpox, but in a very limited way.
"Jenner's vision from the very beginning was: 'It's got to be a shared global response and it should be free for everyone to get a vaccine'.
"In a way we're going through exactly what Jenner was going through then, but obviously with a lot more understanding ... the story has been reignited".
'A hard core of fans and collectors for Edward Jenner'
The omens suggest that the manuscript could fetch even more than the Dominic Winter estimate. The last time a Jenner letter went under the hammer at the same location, in 2012, it was sold for £14,000.
"There's a hard core of fans and collectors for Edward Jenner.
"I'm sure there's a lot more people now who know the name Edward Jenner, from popping-up in news stories," Chris added.
The letter goes up for auction on Wednesday 16 June.