Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 55-56. (Budapest, 1970)

KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Antall József: Egy tévedés nyomában — a „Semmelweis-mosdó"

Summary The summarizing of Semmelweis' epoch-making discovery and of his lifework is to be found in his book, open letters and articles, yet it would be his wash-basin a spectacular and fascinating relic for the lay public. It is an understandable intention to find it. There was no question of it for decades, still later there were published works home and abroad, which contained the photo of Semmelweis' wash-basin. The original of this photo, the wash-basin, got into the collection of the Historical Medical Library from the Library of the Hungarian Society of Physicians between the 25th of July and 19th of August 1952. In the official acknowledgement of receipt we can read under 2 entry, in the item of "Other properties": "one wooden washstand with a washbowl and a water-tank", but we can see nowhere the name of Semmelweis. We can find a similiar text in the enclosure of the official document. To the best of the remembrance of the collaborators of the Library there was a handwritten card attached to the basin with the text: "Semmelweis' wash-basin". On the ground of this card the late director of the Library, Mr. Ákos Palla exhibited it as Semmelweis wash-basin and as literary adviser of István Domány (1958) made available the photo for his book. He published the photo in his own too (Nymphis Medicis, 1962) and gave it over to the editors of the Revue Hongroise (1965, nr 8). We saw the same photo in the article of János Kenéz published in "Die Grünenthal Waage" (1965, nr 4). On the ground of these publications the photo of Semmelweis' wash-basin kept spreading and there is a keen interest in it nowadays too. The wash-basin was handed over to the Semmelweis Historical Medical Museum on the 31st of July 1964. It was thoroughly investigated and the statement was: it couldn't be the wash-basin of Semmelweis, who died in 1865, because it is an industrial product from a later period and it is made of rough, indelicate industrial porcellan with a trademark of "fess" and not of "beehive". At the centennary of Semmelweis' death, in 1865, it wasn't exhibited. The identical copy of the wash-basin was found later in the illustrated trade catalogue of Schaerer (Illustrierter Katalog), which appeared probably in 1905, and this type of wash-basin according to the proper description of it was used probably between 1880—1910. Now the question is arising: how did this mistake happen? Our suppositon leads us to the films shot about Semmelweis. A Hungarian Semmelweis' film made in 1952 gives the possible explanation: the impersonator of Semmelweis ( Imre Apathy) is washing his hands in this wash-basin, as the photos verify it too. Now we had to make clear exactly, when was the film being shot? The Hungarian Film Studio gave a full information about the date of the shooting: from the 14th of February till the 1st of July, 1952. The library took over the wash-basin later, but previously the property man of the film studio signed it with a label: "Semmelweis* wash-basin" and it was handed over the Library with this card together and the mistake arose from here. It was our duty to make clear this mistake around Semmelweis' washbasin and we have to state now: it is dangerous to make any statement without proper critic and adequate evidence, because "quid volumus credimus libenter"

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