Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1115

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1 volume (+ 10 photographs, 4 leaves)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Gladys Rutherford photograph album, 1923-1928, Ms. Coll. 1115, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1923-1928 (inclusive)

Creator:

Rutherford, Gladys

Form:

Manuscripts, English -- 20th century, Picture postcards, Snapshots, Photographs, and Photograph albums

Abstract:

A photograph album kept by Gladys Rutherford, a physician and medical missionary who worked in India throughout her life. The album provides a visual record of Gladys Rutherford's first five years as a practicing doctor and medical missionary in Northern India from 1923 to 1928.

Gladys Rutherford was born at Liverpool, Lancashire, England to Charles Henry Rutherford (1858-1930) and Ada Jane Watson (1861-1939). Charles Henry was a lawyer and served as Lord Mayor, City of Liverpool from 1921 to 1922. Gladys Rutherford attended the University of Liverpool, received a Bachelor of Medicine in 1921, a Bachelor of Surgery, and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine in March 1922. She performed medical missionary work in India throughout her life. In 1955 Rutherford was awarded the first John Holt Medal by the Liverpool School for Tropical Medicine for her work in tropical hygiene in India.

This oblong photograph album contains 339 black-and-white photographs mounted on brown paper leaves with captions in white ink. A majority of the snapshots measure 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" or 4" x 2." The volume provides a visual record of Gladys Rutherford's first five years as a practicing doctor and medical missionary in Northern India from 1923 to 1928. Rutherford's captions provide context and the names of nurses, doctors, and patients. On the first leaf of the volume are three photographs of Captain J. G. Brown on board the ship City of Calcutta. This vessel took Rutherford to Bombay (now Mumbai), India. Photographs document stops in Pompeii, Sudan, and passage through the Suez Canal. Rutherford's missionary work began in the Bhiwani District of India. Images at Bhiwani include her bungalow, nurses, and patients at the missionary hospital. Rutherford captured landscapes, villages, and working animals, bullocks, camels, elephants, and horses. She noted the services provided by the animals such as carrying water and transportation. There are pictures of Rutherford studying and snapshots with patients, many of whom are children. She recorded district customs such as women using a spinning wheel where she noted "as insisted upon by Gandhi." Rutherford photographed nomadic tribes, merchants selling beads, and artisans making pottery. In 1925 Rutherford attended language school and visited the missionary hospital at Landour Cantonment where photographs document her treks around the district and hiking a deep ravine. Rutherford traveled to Shimla Hills and visited the Siyan Village near Agra where she witnessed a royal procession riding elephants. There are images of a hospital at Sonamarg, Kashmir and scenic views at Glacier Valley. In 1926 Rutherford arrived at Dholpur to work at the missionary hospital. Images here record many children and a trip to Moga Eye Hospital. Photographs taken at Agra record Rutherford's trip to the Taj Mahal. Rutherford worked in the hospital at Dholpur from 1926 to 1928. Her photographs recorded birth defects such as a cleft lip and diseases such as leprosy. Many images of Rutherford appear in the album and are indicated by her initials, G. R. intertwined beneath the photograph. In one of the pictures she is riding a camel. Laid in the volume--see Folder 1--is a printed letter by Rutherford in Princes Gate Church magazine dated 1926, while she worked at Lady Hardinge Hospital at Dholpur. Also laid in the volume is a portrait of Rutherford, nine photographs, and three postcards of sites in Delhi with notes written by Rutherford on the verso.