Female Medical Students at Johns Hopkins - 1943

Female Medical Students, Johns Hopkins

Original Photo

[Women in Science] [Medicine] [Education]. A small archive of 15 silver gelatin photos kept by a female Johns Hopkins medical student in 1943. Each about 4.5" x 3.25" inches. Black and white. This set is special as it was taken during the nadir of 20th century female medical participation. The scenes depicted here are jovial, focused, familial. Several photos of lab instruments. One photo of one of the female medical students holding a lab rat and administering some fluid to it through a pipette. Pictured among them are their male contemporaries. Hopkins has been consistently ranked the top medical school in the country. Progressive women flocked to medicine in the decades leading to suffrage, but the numbers declined as the postwar era ushered a temporary reassertion of the "separate spheres." By 1960, women made up only 6% of physicians. Today, they are over 1/3 and comprise half of graduating classes. The mid-century women in these photos, whom we see performing experiments and examining patients, bucked the trend of their generation to graduate from the most prestigious medical schools in the country. The photos bear some stamps and minor inscriptions on verso, as well as leftover paper from when they were removed from an album. Overall very good condition with clear image quality. A very compelling and inspirational set of photos from women following their passion in a male dominated field and era.

Item #17385

Price: $185.00