Boyd Family Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Boyd, Walter Willard, Dr.
label: Creator
content: Boyd, John C.
label: Creator
content: Carpenter, Josephine
label: Names
content: Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
label: Names
content: Cushing, Harvey, Dr., 1869-1939
label: Names
content: Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich, 1849-1936
label: Names
content: Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948
label: Names
content: Willard, Walter Jones
topic: label: Occupation
content: Surgeons
label: Topic
content: Neurosurgeons
label: Topic
content: Nervous system -- Surgery
label: Topic
content: Museum curators
label: Topic
content: Medicine
label: Topic
content: Amputation
label: Topic
content: United States Navy -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945 -- Posters -- United States
label: Topic
content: World War, 1914-1918 -- Posters -- United States
label: Topic
content: War posters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated by Ms. Josephine Carpenter, daughter of Dr. Walter Willard Boyd, Nov. 19, 1999.
creator: label: Creator
content: Boyd, Walter Willard, Dr.
label: Creator
content: Boyd, John C.
label: Creator
content: Carpenter, Josephine
setName: label: See more items in
content: Boyd Family Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: Papers related to Dr. John C. Boyd's career as a U.S. Navy surgeon, including his commission, names recommended for awards, his casebook for 1874-1877, his correspondence, including two letterpress books, 1895-1902; photographs. Also photographs, especially those by his son, Dr. Walter Willard Boyd, of Dr. Harvey Cushing performing neurosurgical and other operations; two films (1931) of an operation; two scrapbooks, including one outlining an accident and eventual amputation of the leg of Walter Jones Willard (includes letters and sympathy cards).
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Boyd Family Collection consists primarily of correspondence, recruitment and other posters, personal papers, and photographs of a naval surgeon, John C. Boyd, and his son Walter Willard Boyd. 

Dr. John C. Boyd was a surgeon and medical inspector for the United States Navy.  Included in the collection is Boyd's Naval Commission, December 19, 1873, his Patient Case Book 1874-1877, and a Letterpress book of his correspondence with other professionals and military officials.  As a naval inspector, he not only examined patients' conditions, but he also inspected the sanitation of the soldier's quarters and other areas aboard naval ships.  

His son, Dr. Walter Willard Boyd, was a photographer of medical surgeries performed by Dr. Harvey Cushing (1869  1939). Cushing was widely known as the greatest neurosurgeon of the 20th century and his school of neuro surgery was world famous. His contributions to neuroscience were numerous and he was also known as a medical historian. Cushing's biography of Sir William Osler won a Pulitzer Prize in 1926. Boyd interned under Cushing and put together an exhibit at the Bent Brigham Hospital's 30th Anniversary Celebration in honor of Dr. Harvey Cushing's contributions to neuroscience. This collection contains photographs taken by Walter Boyd that were displayed at this exhibit. Dr. Richard U. Light (one of Cushing's last residents and also an avid photographer) and Dr. Boyd filmed Dr. Cushing's 2000th verified brain tumor operation on April 15th, 1931. Two films of this operation are included in the collection. In addition, Scrapbook #3 contains photographs of Dr. Cushing performing operations.

Also contained in this collection is a scrapbook outlining the details of a leg accident of Walter Jones Willard.  Walter Jones Willard is the son of C.C. Willard, former owner and proprietor of the Ebbitt Hotel and the Willard Hotel, both in Washington, D.C.  Walter Jones Willard and his brother Edward were both graduates of Yale University class of 1892 and were members of the prominent Willard family of D.C.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6 Cubic feet (7 boxes)
label: Extent
content: 2 Motion picture films
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1874-1945
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0707
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Motion picture films
label: Type
content: Letterpress copybooks
label: Type
content: Greeting cards
label: Type
content: Sympathy cards
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Posters
label: Type
content: Correspondence
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Divided into 7 series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Robert Harris and Stephanie Thomas, 2002.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Letterpress copybooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Greeting cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Sympathy cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks -- 1880-1910
label: Genre/Form
content: Posters -- World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 1900-1950
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection is divided into six series.  

Series 1: Awards and Commissions, 1917-1920

Series 2: Casebook, 1874-1877 

Series 3: CORRESPONDENCE, January 1895-February 1902

Series 4: PHOTOGRAPHS,1928 - 1939

Series 5: POSTERS, early 1900's- mid 1940's

Series 6: SCRAPBOOKS, 1888-1945

Series 7: FILM, 1931
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Some materials from the donor were distributed to other NMAH divisions or to other archival repositories.

Princeton University Posters Collection.  The Princeton University Library donated this extensive collection of WWI, and WWII materials to the Smithsonian in 1963 and 1967.

Photographic scrapbook #4 of Dr. Cushing's operations can be found at the Cyber Museum of Neurosurgery. It was donated to the American Association of Neurosurgery Archives by Dr. Richard U. Light. http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/journal/