Walter Reed and the Conquest of Yellow Fever

[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company] ; Hallock, Grace T. ; Turner, C. E.

Health Heroes: Walter Reed [1920s Metropolitan Life] [Yellow Fever & Cuba Research]

New York: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 1926.
A definitive mid-century educational survey of the life and work of Dr. Walter Reed. 

Published by the Metropolitan Life Welfare Division, this 24-page booklet was designed to bring the triumphs of modern medicine to the American classroom. It chronicles Reeds journey from his early frontier service to the monumental discovery of the yellow fever vector in Havana. The text is specifically notable for its focus on the scientific method and the human cost of the experiments, featuring portraits of the researchers and the brave volunteers of the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Commission. This specimen remains a vital time-capsule of American medical triumph and the sophisticated graphic design of 1920s instructional printing.

KEY FEATURES
+++ Illustrations: Includes photographic plates, portraits of Reed and Carlos Finlay, and a specialized map of the yellow fever zone.
+++ Context: Part of the Health Heroes series, curated by academic experts Grace T. Hallock and Professor C.E. Turner of MIT.
+++ Scientific Content: Detailed explanation of the incubation period, mosquito lifespan, and the eradication strategies that made the Panama Canal possible.
+++ Specs: 24 pages; stapled wraps; 5.5 x 7.25 inches.

CONDITION: Near Fine.
+++ The Booklet: Wraps are clean and bright with minimal age-toning. No rusted staples, internal markings, or dog-eared corners.
+++ Paper Quality: The internal pages remain supple and white, an unusual state for 1920s inexpensive educational stock.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —
The Metropolitan Life Health Heroes series was a masterclass in behavioral economics and public health branding. By educating the public on the history of disease eradication, MetLife was protecting its own financial interests while providing high-quality science education to millions of Americans. The Walter Reed volume stands as the most scientifically significant title in the series, documenting the end of the scourge that had paralyzed the American South and Caribbean for centuries.

SUBJECTS: Walter Reed, Yellow Fever, Medical History, Epidemiology, Cuba History, Tropical Medicine, Metropolitan Life Insurance, Public Health Education, Ephemera, Medical Literature, Educational Pamphlet, Corporate History.

Item #21764

Price: $45.00