New Years Resolutions

Damien Ihrig, MA, MLIS
Curator, John Martin Rare Book Room

Welcome to 2022! Every new year we naturally take stock of our lives and consider changes for the months ahead. Folks make resolutions, consider renewal (especially with several helpful reminders from memberships and organizations!), and look for ways to rejuvenate.

I have made my annual pledge to exercise more. If my previous resolutions are any indication, my exercise routine will remain steadfastly unchanged. But the desire for change — a restoration of a more youthful fitness — remains.

The search for the secret to an eternal youth and long life has captured the imaginations of many cultures. In the West, the ancient Greek writer, Herodotus, introduced the idea of a Fountain of Youth that inspired many legends, including those attached to the Spanish conquistador, Juan Ponce de León. Potion makers, alchemists, and apothecaries sold elixirs promising to reverse the effects of aging. A legacy that lives on in the clickbait social media ads of today.

One quirky side road in the development of Endocrinology was the rejuvenation movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was kicked off by the self-experimentation of the great 19th century French-Mauritian Neurologist, Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard, who, at the age of 72, injected himself with extracts of guinea pig and dog testes.

He reported a host of restored abilities, including strength and cognition. It was later discredited as a treatment (eventually attributed to the placebo effect — the testes do not retain the hormones they make), but that did not stop thousands of others from trying the same. And more importantly, it got folks interested in studying hormone-producing tissues more closely.

In the early 20th century, the Russian-French surgeon, Serge Voronoff, followed in Brown-Séquard's footsteps. Amongst other things, he performed primate to human testicle and ovary transplants. An excellent surgeon, but not always the most diligent researcher, Voronoff would transplant animal gonads into anyone who could afford it. Not surprisingly, the majority of his clients were wealthy men looking to rejuvenate their flagging "sexual vigor," although Voronoff insisted any sexual improvement was a side effect of overall restored health.

This month, we highlight Voronoff's seminal work, Étude sur la vieillesse et la rajeunissement par la greffe. [Research on aging and rejuvenation by transplantation]. Whether you are interested in the history of Endocrinology, Urology, transplantation, animal and human research protections, quackery, or early 20th-century printing, this book has it all. Please read more about it below.

Stay well and happy reading!

Spring Hours

The Room is available Monday-Thursday, 8:30-5:00 (U.S. Central) and Friday by appointment. FACE MASKS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. To guarantee the Room is available, please contact me at damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu.

February 16 at 7 pm (central) – The John Martin Rare Book Room Presents
Eyeing Research Rabbit Holes: Using Archives in Research and Teaching
Dr. Sonja Mayrhofer
University of Iowa Rhetoric Department

Dr. Mayrhofer will discuss her research journey from medieval poetry to the structure of the human eye, and the power of special collections as research resources and teaching tools.

April 20 from 4-7 pm (central) – The John Martin Rare Book Room Open House
Join us for an evening of bibliomanic fun. Enjoy an up-close and personal look at new acquisitions and old favorites.

June 6 at 7 pm (central) – The John Martin Rare Book Room Presents
Dr. Charles Grose
Professor of Pediatrics-Infectious Disease
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Details to come.

Book of the Month

VORONOFF, SERGE (1866-1951). Étude sur la vieillesse et la rajeunissement par la greffe. [Research on aging and rejuvenation by transplantation] Printed in Paris by Octave and Gaston Doin in 1926. 23 cm tall.

Voronoff was born in Russia and studied medicine in France. He studied with the transplant pioneer, Alexis Carell (mentioned in the last newsletter), eventually becoming a French citizen and setting up his own research and surgical practice. While practicing in Cairo for a time, he reflected on the accelerated aging experienced by eunuchs.

Believing aging and a whole host of associated health conditions could be reversed with testicular transplantation, he set about studying the effects in farm animals. Not unexpectedly, few young men were willing to donate one of their testicles for human transplantation. He began by using the testicles of executed prisoners (he was neither the first nor the last to misuse prisoners in this way), but the demand for his services was too high. He eventually settled on monkeys and apes as the best animal substitute, setting up a "monkey farm" to ensure a steady supply.

To demonstrate the validity of his procedure, Voronoff often published patient testimonials with "before and after" photographs of his patients (see banner image above), a technique used throughout the 20th

century and now by those peddling "too good to be true" cures. His technique inspired many other surgeons and veterinarians around the world. Thousands of animal to human and animal to animal sexual organ transplants were performed.

He was convinced he would eventually be able to create long-lived superhumans and animals. Voronoff himself performed at least one human ovary transplantation into a monkey, including an attempt to impregnate the monkey with human sperm.

An increasing lack of evidence and Voronoff's critics, both in science and the media, finally overwhelmed the work, The discovery of hormones associated with sexual organs in the 1930's rendered transplantation completely unnecessary.

This book is Voronoff's major work and has his signature on the flyleaf. It is in good condition, with the cover mostly detached but the text block is intact and in excellent condition. The simple paper covers have darkened somewhat over time due to handling and higher acid levels present in most papers of the time.

Contact me to view this book or any others from this fascinating (and disturbing!) period of medical experimentation and discovery: damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu or 319-335-9154 to arrange a visit in person or over Zoom.