MSS 2/0032-01			Acc. 1989-093

CHANCE, BURTON
(1868-1965)

Papers,
1839; 1844 (1899-1957)


Biographical

Burton Kollock Chance, Philadelphia ophthalmologist and medical 
historian, was born on 30 January 1868.  He was the tenth and 
youngest child of Robert Chambers and Elizabeth Gale (Corson) 
Chance.  In 1903, Burton Chance married Maria Scott Beale.  
Chance died on 4 March 1965.

Chance received his M.D. from the Medical Department of the University 
of Pennsylvania in 1893.  He then served an internship at St. 
Joseph's Hospital.  In 1894, he became Resident Physician at 
Wills Eye Hospital.   He became Assistant Dispensary Surgeon 
at the Eye Dispensary of the University of Pennsylvania in 1895, 
and from 1895 to 1898, he also served as Physician in Charge 
of the Children's Department at St. Joseph's Hospital. In 1899, 
Chance became Assistant Surgeon at Wills Eye Hospital and opened 
his private practice.  In 1909, he became Ophthalmic Surgeon 
to the Pennsylvania Railroad as well as Ophthalmologist to the Germantown 
Dispensary and Hospital.  Chance became Chief Surgeon at Wills 
Eye Hospital in 1916 and held this position until 1933 when 
he withdrew to consulting status.

Chance was the author of over 250 publications, including case 
studies of neoplasms and color blindness and articles on biography 
and medical history.

Burton Chance was a member of many professional organizations, 
including the Philadelphia County Medical Society, the Medical 
Society of the State of Pennsylvania, the American Medical Association, 
and the American Ophthalmological Society. He became a Fellow 
of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1900 and was 
very active in the Section on Ophthalmology.


Scope and Contents

This small collection of Burton Chance's papers, primarily correspondence, 
touches on many aspects of his professional work and interests 
as well as his personal life.

Series 1 comprises the bulk of the collection.  Chance's correspondence, 
generally letters received from other ophthalmologists with 
occasional copies of letters written 
by Chance (1899-1957), spans his career and contains professional 
recommendations, patient referrals, and letters on many aspects 
of ophthalmology and medical history.

Notable items in Series 1 include: Chance's application to the 
U. S. Army's Medical Reserve Corps; extensive correspondence 
with Sir D'Arcy Power on the history of ophthalmology, Chance's 
published writings, Power's trip to Philadelphia in 1930, and 
his reactions to the onset on World War II; a letter (4 March 
1926) from Howard F. Hill concerning sutures in cataract surgery; 
letters (1942) from W. R. Le Fanu about a biography of Sir D'Arcy 
Power; a letter from Edward A. Shumway (8 November 1930), criticizing an 
operation performed by Chance at Wills Eye Hospital; letters 
(1946) from William Evans Bruner and J. Hamilton Taylor giving 
information for Chance's biography of G. E. de Schweinitz; correspondence 
from Casey A. Wood concerning medical history and a Sinhalese 
medical manuscript; an extensive collection of letters from 
Fielding H. Garrison concerning medical history, opera, and 
a speech Chance was to deliver on the history of ophthalmology; 
and a letter (1917) from Samuel D. Risley concerning his resignation 
from Wills Eye Hospital.  Correspondence with Harvey Cushing (1920) 
concerning alcoholic injections into the Gasserian ganglion 
is contained in Series 1.4 along with correspondence received 
concerning Chance's writing on Sir William Lawrence.  

Series 1 also contains two files of subject correspondence. 
 One is a series of letters from Chance to W. Adams Frost and W. 
T. Belding of Cassell and Company, a publishing firm, concerning 
a proposed revision of Carter and Frost's Ophthalmic surgery 
(1905).  The second folder contains correspondence about Fielding 
H. Garrison from his wife and daughter, Margaret, as well as 
Chance's typescript reminiscences of Garrison and correspondence 
about a proposed biographical project (1935-1936).

The remainder of the Chance Papers consist of several small series 
with few items.  Chance's proposal to the College of Physicians 
for a new category of membership for recent graduates in medicine, 
the member associate, is discussed in Series 2.  Series 3 contains 
a few miscellaneous items relating to Chance's ophthalmological 
practice including notes on three cases (1917) and a list of 
necessary ophthalmological instruments.  Series 4 contains an 
example of a patient registration card (1905) from Wills Eye Hospital 
as well as correspondence concerning the formation of an association 
of ex residents.  Chance's remarks on the occasion on the 20th 
reunion of the Class of 1893 of the University of Pennsylvania's 
Department of Medicine are contained in Series 5. Series 6 is a
small collection of printed material, primarily newsclippings or
journal articles, concerning medical artworks or the history of
medicine and prominent medical figures.  Series 7 includes some
miscellaneous items of historical interest, such as visiting cards
from A. J. Abbe and William J. Ketchner and two autograph letters
concerning members of the Tillinghast family.  One (25 May 1839)
from N. E. Rogers describes farm and religious life and abolition in
 Ohio, while the other (7 January 1844) is a love letter from L. B.
 to Mary Tillinghast.


Provenance

Provenance of this collection is generally unknown, although probably 
all items are gifts of Burton Chance. 

The division of correspondence in Series 1 derives from separate 
cataloguing that was made while these letters were housed in 
the Autograph Collection of the Library.  Each subdivision seems 
to represent a separate gift of letters to the College of Physicians, 
so this division has been preserved.

Series 1.4 was donated to the College by Burton Chance circa 
April 1954.

The correspondence in Series 1.1 and Series 2 through 7 were 
housed in a box file which was isolated on the 7th floor of 
the Cage in 1988.  This file was in the Historical Collections 
before 13 June 1957; at that date, some of the correspondence 
was examined by W. B. McDaniel II.

The letters of Fielding H. Garrison in Series 1.3 were loaned 
to the Historical Division of the National Library of Medicine 
for microfilming in 1959.  The ALS from Alfred Stengel in Series 
1.3 was donated to the College on 29 May 1919, but, clearly, 
other items in this subseries were added at a later date.

The collection was fully processed in 1989.


1839;1844 (1899-1957)
1 1/2 boxes

10/18/1989
jde