December 2012 Auction Ends Tuesday, December 18th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/18/2012
Superb Maurice Wilkins autograph manuscript signed, dated 22 October 1999. Comprehensive manuscript on one page discusses a November 1948-9 letter Wilkins had written to Francis Crick as their relationship was blossoming and their preliminary ideas of DNA's true structure were still being explored. Photocopy of the original letter is included which also bears his signature, ''MHF Wilkins'' and additionally, a small annotation in his hand: ''Set of letters to Crick (showing my notes in red)''. Manuscript is written in black ink with a bold ''MHF Wilkins'' signed at the upper right corner. Reads in full: ''Set of My Comment on the Letters to Crick / 22 Oct. 99 / Extra letter, probably the first I wrote to Crick. 1948-9 / In 1948 I was busy with microspectroscopy of living cells studying the changes in DNA in chromosome in dividing tissue culture cells; but I was also moving towards the structure of DNA itself because we were very lucky in hearing about [Oswald] Avery's [who discovered that DNA is the material of which genes and chromosomes are made] work from a biochemist who had worked near Avery in New York & gave good reasons to believe that Avery really had shown DNA (by itself) really was the gene material. Also Gerald Oster had been a very useful U.S. visitor who brought me up to date on Stanley's (California) work on crystals of TMV virus. So I was edging away from DNA in cells towards molecular structure of DNA. Like most British scientists, Francis believed genes were protein. We were very lucky to get inside information about Avery! Later when Jim Watson came to Cambridge he told them (all working on protein crystals) a great deal more about DNA work by the U.S. Phage Group. Thus Francis joined up with Jim. (who had been switched on by seeing our crystalline DNA pattern at my Naples talk). At the time of this letter my scientific work did not overlap much with Francis's work which had been forced on him by the MRC who employed him in the Strangeways lab at Cambridge. However, the spirit at dinner with Frances & Odile reminded me of my very lively times in Berkeley during the war.'' Signed ''MHF Wilkins'' at upper right. Manuscript measures 8.25'' x 11.5'' with staple holes and the number ''1'' circled in pencil at top left. Near fine condition.
Maurice Wilkins Autograph Manuscript Signed -- Providing Historically Illuminating Contextualization of the Early Stages of Research That Led to The Discovery of DNA -- ''...I was edging away from...
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