1920 Photograph of Female Medical Student Doing Anatomical Experiment

Original Vintage Photograph from June 1920 of a group of young scientists, including a young woman, doing a dissection of a human skeletal cadaver. Black and white silver gelatin photograph. 7" x 5" photograph on 8" x 10" board. Captioned "June 1920" on verso. It is likely that this coeducational group are medical students, with one older man in glasses seeming to be their instructor. In the background, we can see a variety of anatomical drawings as well as bones preserved in liquid in a glass case. The students wear white lab coats, except for the female student, (truncated) who is wearing a white gown. While women had entered the nursing profession in large numbers during the 19th century, there were still very few female doctors in 1920, making this photo a depiction of a rather uncommon scene. There is a horizontal crack along the upper part of the board, which is holding but delicate. The photo itself has a very small closed tear and a small blue smudge in the bottom left corner but is in very good condition overall. (Inventory #: 19234)