Certificate on parchment, written and signed by Madame du Coudray, 29 October 1773, to surgeon Charles Gabriel Didelot for his attendance at, and mastery of, her midwifery course in Neufchateau.

COUDRAY, Madame du

Verlag:

1773. 1 leaf. Very Good. NOTE: The ink is faint, so I have included two photos, one of which has been darkened in order to make the document somewhat easier to read. Here is a transcription: "Je soussigné maitresse sage femme de Paris, brevetée et pensionnée du Roy pour démontrer dans toute la France l art des accouchemens, de passage à Neufchateau. . ., certifie à tous qu'il appartiendra que le sieur Charles Gabriel Didelot, maitre en chirurgie, . . . inscrit au Collège de Nancy, . . . a suivi exactement mes cours d'accouchemens, qu'il y a fait des progrès qui l'ont mit en état de faire non seulemen de justes prognostics, mais d'opérer avec succès dans les cas les plus difficultueux et de démontrer à l'aide de la machine, dont je me sert pour mes démonstrations toutes les opérations tant ordinaires qu'extraordinaires. En foi de quoi je lui ai délivré le present certificat à Neufchateau le vingt neuf octobre mille sept cent soixante treize. du Coudray. . . ." The surgeon Charles Gabriel Didelot had written his own manual for midwives Instruction pour les sages-femmes ou methode assurée pour aider les femmes dans les accouchemens naturels & laborieux, published in Nancy in 1770. Madame du Coudray was in Nancy in February 1774. "The students here are eager to buy their own copies of du Coudray's book, and a helpful surgeon named Didelot, who had earlier written a small midwifery manual of his own, is graciously assisting with the distribution of the recent third edition of the Abrégé [de l'art des accouchemens]. What a comfort that he, unlike other male authors on obstetrics, makes no attempt to steal the midwife s luster. Far from it: he appreciates her contribution. . ." (Gelbart, The King's Midwife, p. 172). "In October 1759 the king honored Madame du Coudray with a brevet charging her to travel 'throughout the realm' teaching the art of midwifery to thousands of women in an effort to save subjects for the state. The midwife who had merely requested a pension three years earlier was suddenly a medical missionary and royal ambassadress. Thus was her famous mission launched. During the next year she settled her affairs in Clermont, gave additional courses around Auvergne, and prepared to announce herself to the nation as the king's midwife. She finally did so in a circular letter dated August 1, 1760. . ." (Gelbart, "Books and the Birthing Business: The Midwife Manuals of Madame du Coudray", in Going Public, Women and Publishing in Early Modern France, pp. 82-83). Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 16265

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Certificate on parchment, written and signed...
Einband: No Binding
Zustand: Very Good