Silverman and Butterfield Infant Incubator Research Collection

Overview

Lawrence Gartner, MD, FAAP and Carol Gartner, PhD Pediatric History Center
American Academy of Pediatrics
345 Park Blvd
Itasca, IL 60143
630-626-6000
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Title: Silverman and Butterfield Infant Incubator Research Collection
Dates: 1915 – 2004 (Bulk 1967 – 1992)
Physical Description: 2.5 boxes
Language(s): English, German
Summary: Correspondence, notes, clippings, photocopies, photographs, negatives and lecture slides from research on the history of the infant incubator conducted by Dr. William A. Silverman and Dr. L. Joseph Butterfield.

Administrative Information

Provenance: The primary group of records was transferred from the Smithsonian Institution to the Pediatric History Center by request of Dr. Silverman in 1994. The second group of records was donated by Dr. Butterfield's widow in 2004.

Information about Access: The collection is open without restriction.
Ownership & Copyright: This collection is the physical property of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Copyright may belong to the authors and photographer, their legal heirs and assigns.

Processing Notes: Over the years the collections were intermingled and a clear origin for some records is difficult to discern. Formal processing occurred in 2018.

Biographical Note

William A. Silverman, MD, FAAP:
Dr. Silverman graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine in 1942. As faculty at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University and pediatrician at Babies Hospital of Columbia-Presbyterian for 22 years he dedicated himself to premature infant care and earned himself the title "father of neonatal care." He then returned to California to serve as Chief of the Perinatology Section at Children's Hospital, San Francisco and adjunct professor at University of California, San Francisco. Regarded by many as one of the pioneer neonatologist, his research led to the determination that high levels of oxygen in incubators led to retrolental fibroplasia in premature infants. With a focus on controlled clinical trials he authored numerous articles and books. His 1979 article "Incubator-Baby Side Shows" in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, encouraged numerous scholars to further research Martin Couney. This pioneering article is still frequently cited.

L. Joseph Butterfield, MD, FAAP:
Dr. Butterfield received his MD from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1955. He served the Children's Hospital, Denver and the University of Colorado Medical Center for 34 years. Considered a pioneer of modern neonatology, Dr. Butterfield established regional centers for perinatal care as well as the Denver Perinatal Society. He led a task force which was instrumental in creating a commemorative US postage stamp in honor of Virginia Apgar. In the 1990s Dr. Butterfield turned an informal study group with a focus on Martin Couney into the AAP Perinatal Section Ad Hoc Committee on Perinatal History. The Committee published "The Martin Couney Story Revisited" in Pediatrics August 1997.

Collection Contents

Box 1

Folder 1: Correspondence of William A. Silverman regarding incubator research 1967-1997
Folder 2: Correspondence from Harold S. Musselwhite Jr. (former Martin A. Couney patient) 1995-1996
Folder 3: Correspondence from Moe Goldstein (consultant to the 1939-1940 exhibit at the New York World's Fair) 1967
Folder 4: Correspondence of L. Joseph Butterfield 1993-1996
Folder 5: Silverman research papers that include photocopies, notes, and articles related to incubator and neonatology
Folder 6: Butterfield research papers that include photocopies, notes, and articles related to incubator and neonatology
Folder 7: Research papers related to Charles Chapple
Folder 8: Annotated Bibliography of the History of the Incubator, Russell A. Nelson
Folder 9: Photocopy of Incubator Patent from 1890
Folder 10: Brochure style reprint of Silverman Pediatrics article in German language "Martin A. Couney Der Inkubatordoktor" 1980

Box 2

Folder 1: Postcard if Alexandre Lion and his incubators, original, 1900
Folder 2: Postcard of infant incubator building at Wonderland in Revere Beach, Massachusetts, original, 1906
Folder 3: Photograph of infant Harry Diner reared in San Francisco Couney Exhibit, original, 1915, published in Silverman article.
Folder 4: Glass slide of incubators from Chicago 1933, copy slide of print, published in Silverman article
Folder 5: Photograph of Nurses, including Hildegarde Couney, and infants at the World's Fair, Flushing, NY 1939 from Moe Goldstein, Published in Silverman article.
Folder 6: Photograph of infant with Madame Recht's ring on wrist, New York, 1939, published in Silverman article
Folder 7: Photograph of Dr. Moe Goldstein's identification card from the New York World's Fair 1939
Folder 8: Photographs (8) of Martin A. Couney 1939
Folder 9: Pan-American Exposition Buffalo and Niagara Falls booklet, contains image of infant incubator exhibit by the QBTA Company printed in Silverman article, original, 1901
Folder 10: 10 photographic slides (35mm color) of an early transport isolette, photographer Robert D. McArtor, 1994
Folder 11: 15 photographic slides (35mm color) reflecting history of retrolental fibroplasia (RLF) from William A. Silverman
Folder 12: Text and papers related to exhibit "A Photo-History of the Incubator" by L. Joseph Butterfield, 1993-1998
Folder 13: Print photographs and related image research from L. Joseph Butterfield's exhibit "A Photo-History of the Incubator", 1998
Folder 14: Print photograph of Newborn Emergency Service airplane transport, original from Butterfield exhibit "A Photo-History of the Incubator"
Folder 15: Copy negatives from L. Joseph Butterfield's exhibit "A Photo-History of the Incubator"
Folder 16: L. Joseph Butterfield presentation slide sets including "A Revision in the History of the Incubator." 200 mounted 35 mm positive slides. Bulk are copy slides of prints, some original images from 1960's and 1970's.
Folder 17: Presentation notes of L. Joseph Butterfield "A Revision in the History of the Incubator." Read at the 22nd Annual Perinatal Nursing Conference, 1990's.

Box 3

Folder 1: L. Joseph Butterfield presentation slide sets including "The Nursery Network - An Option to Deregionalization." 150 mounted 35 mm positive slides. Bulk are copy slides of prints, some original images from 1960's and 1970's.
Folder 2: Group of research slides used by L. Joseph Butterfield or William A. Silverman. 87 mounted 35 mm positive slides, duplicates of other images in collection.

Last Updated

10/21/2020

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics