BLACKWELL FAMILY ELIZABETH BLACKWELL GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE From Bridges - J.H.28 Ladbroke Gardens Kensington Park, W 17 November 1897 Dear Dr. Blackwell After spending some thoughts on your proposal of giving encouragement and help for a really impartial history of the growth and progress of biological discovery, I remain convinced that such a work would be of great interest and value. It would I believe tend to show that painful experimentation on living animals has played a far less important part in biological discovery than is commonly supposed by scientific men. But for such a work to be of any value, two conditions are necessary: First the writer must be a man of proved scientific competence; Secondly, it must be made clear from the outset and all through his work that he is writing as an independent man of science, and not holding a brief forthe anti-vivisectionists. I for one do not believe that the broad statement so often made, that no discovery has ever been made by vivisection can be as the test of rigid examination. Nevertheless I believe that the part played by vivisection in the history of discovery has been enormously exaggerated . But in any case the author of such a work as is pro posed, should hold himself absolutely free to judge in each case according to it’s merits. I remain Sincerely yours J.H. BridgesDr. Bridges.