Photographs of early ether anesthesia in Boston: the Daguerreotypes of Albert Southworth and Josiah Hawes.

PUBLICATIONS on the history of anesthesia may have an image of a photograph, engraving, or painting of early ether anesthesia in Boston, Massachusetts. Closer inspection of the photographs in various publications reveals that there are five known photographs that were taken in the original amphitheater (now called the Ether Dome) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Four photographs (figs. 1–4) were reproduced in a book on the daguerreotypes of Southworth and Hawes. No publication on the history of anesthesiology has reproduced more than three of the five known photographs. Richard J. Wolfe’s book on Robert C. Hinckley (1853–1941) and his well-known painting of the first demonstration of ether at MGH contains three of the photographs (figs. 2, 3, and 5) taken at MGH. Wolfe’s later book on William T. G. Morton, M.D. (1819–1868), contains a different set of three photographs (figs. 1–3). The five photographs, all believed to have been taken by Southworth and Hawes, have not been published together in any previous publication in the field of anesthesiology or photography. Albert Sands Southworth (1811–1894) and Josiah Johnson Hawes (1808–1901) were partners in a photographic studio in Boston, Massachusetts, that specialized in the production of daguerreotypes, an early type of photograph. They photographed surgery on several occasions at MGH. They also produced portraits of individuals associated with early ether anesthesia in Boston. Their photographs are unique records of the momentous events in Boston in relation to the administration of ether by inhalation. Four of the five photographs were probably taken in April 1847, nearly 6 months after Morton’s first demonstration of ether anesthesia at MGH. Ether was by then being used elsewhere in the United States and in Europe. However, there are no earlier known photographs of ether anesthesia. Therefore, the photographs of Southworth and Hawes are the earliest known photographs of ether anesthesia and among the earliest known medically related photographs. This article will discuss the history and technique of the daguerreotype, the partnership of Albert Southworth and Josiah Hawes, and all five known photographs taken by Southworth & Hawes in the Ether Dome at MGH. The five photographs are published together for the first time. Their incorrect descriptions in previous publications are also documented. Many of the published interpretations were by photo-historians who may not have been familiar with the history of ether anesthesia or the physicians involved in early ether anesthesia.