Description:

Mendel Gregor

Gregor Mendel, "Father of Modern Genetics" -- Extremely Rare!

 

1p handwritten document in German signed by scientist/cleric Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) as "Gregor Mendel / abt" at center. Written at St. Thomas's Abbey in Brno in what is today the Czech Republic on September 1, 1876. On cream paper bearing an embossed red wax seal at lower left, and two Austrian revenue stamps at upper left. With light overall toning and isolated discoloration. The paper is slightly puckered where the revenue stamps were affixed, and there are isolated wrinkles. Else near fine. 8.25" x 13.5".

 

The document concerned a financial transaction and should yield fascinating discoveries when fully translated. Upon his death, Mendel left behind his scientific work to help resolve a dispute with the government regarding special taxes on religious institutions. The abbot who succeeded Mendel at St. Thomas's burned Mendel's papers to mark an end to the abbey's financial troubles. It is thus extremely rare--nigh unachievable--to uncover any autographed material by one of the world's most famous scientists.

 

Gregor Mendel entered the priesthood at St. Thomas's Abbey, an Augustinian monastery, at Brno in the 1840s. The monastic life appealed to Mendel because of the educational opportunities it afforded him. Fascinated with heredity, Mendel began studying mice, but at the behest of his bishop (who did not approve of monks studying animal sex), he quickly switched to plants. Mendel spent nearly two decades conducting heredity research with pea plants in the abbey's 5-acre garden. He directed numerous experiments cross-breeding the plants in order to study their inherited physical characteristics, features like pea size, pod color, and plant height among others. His Law of Segregation and Law of Independent Assortment, which would later be codified as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance, was published in 1866. The work made little impact at the time of its publication, but it would be reconsidered in the 1890s. It is now acknowledged as one of the foundational works of the study of genetics.

 

A similar document signed by Mendel sold at RR Auction (Amherst, New Hampshire) for over $7,500 in 2015.

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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