Description:

Barnard Christiaan 1922 - 2001 TLS by surgeon Christiaan Barnard nine years after first human heart transplant and mentioning three of his books

2pp TLS on University of Cape Town, Dept. of Cardiac Surgery letterhead signed "Chris Barnard" in black ball point pen at center bottom of second page. Letterhead provides Christiaan Barnard's official titles and awards at top left. University of Cape Town logo, a heraldic black and cobalt crest depicting lamp of knowledge, crown, anchor, and open book inscribed "Spes Bona" appears in vivid colors on both pages. In very fine condition, with expected wear including paper folds, and tiny creased bottom left corner of first page. Each page measures 8.25" x 11.75".

Renown heart surgeon Christiaan Barnard writes a warm and charming letter to "Mrs. Leonard Lyons" on July 26, 1976 from his medical offices at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa. Barnard's letter is in reply to Sylvia Lyons's correspondence from early July. He had just returned from a week-long vacation in the Kalahari hunting antelope when he sat down to type or dictate this letter.

He writes, "I was sorry to read a certain amount of pessimism and down-heartedness in your letter. I can quite understand your feelings but I do believe that everything has a reason and things are never as bad as they often appear". These comments are probably in response to Sylvia's concern over her husband Leonard Lyons's health. (Leonard had been in poor health and died about three months later.) Barnard's advice reveals the detached placidity that one might expect from a doctor, but also a fundamental belief in positivity. This idealism might have informed Barnard's first successful human heart transplant surgery conducted nine years before.

The middle portion of Christiaan's letter is entertaining. He quotes the Robert Lee Sharpe (1872-1951) poem "A Bag of Tools" at length, noting he once shared it with "Lennie". He assures Sylvia that he loves Dixieland and "Town and Country" music, as Leonard suspected, and requests that tapes of such music be sent to him.

In the last paragraphs, Christiaan focuses on his latest literary work, mentioning two novels and one work of non-fiction. "You may be interested to know that I am now working on two books - one is a novel which I hope to complete by the end of the year and the second one is a book on world politics. I think you will be interested in my views on world politics and probably you will disagree with many things I have to say. I am sorry to hear that you never received a copy of my novel "THE UNWANTED" because I did write a dedication in it to Lennie. Maybe you could contact Stephen Donohue ... and ask him what happened to it". The Unwanted, published in 1976, was an autobiographical novel about two brothers. The unnamed works that Barnard mentions here are probably Night Season, the story of a doctor treating his former lover suffering from breast cancer, and South Africa: Sharp Dissection, a work examining apartheid race relations. Both books were published in 1977.

Christiaan Barnard (1922-2001) is known for successfully transplanting the first human heart in 1967. Barnard headed numerous cardiac and surgical departments at Cape Town hospitals before retiring in 1983. His post-surgical life focused on conducting anti-aging research, operating an eponymous organization serving underprivileged children, and writing. This 1976 TLS was written at the height of Barnard's medical and literary career.

Sylvia Lyons was the spouse of prolific American newspaper columnist Leonard Lyons (1906-1976). Lyons produced 12,000 mostly arts-related newspaper columns over a forty-year period published in the New York Post under the heading "The Lyon's Den".

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000