Honorary Testimonial. ROYAL JENNERIAN SOCIETY.

Honorary Testimonial etched and engraved by John Dadley after James George Oben, with a gold stamp in the bottom right corner, plate size 382 x 323 mm, sheet size 528 x 383 mm.
[London: c.1817]

A very grand engraved testimonial granting John Lee Esq Honorary Membership of the Royal Jennerian Society on 5th June 1837, with his name and the date added in manuscript. A triumphal arch is surmounted by the royal crest and a lion and unicorn, with rows of crests interspersed with pillars, with Jenner standing to the left as he tramples a serpent, while standing on a pedestal decorated with a woman milking a cow and handing a bowl to children. Through the arch can be seen London and St. Paul's, and below are sheets of paper listing the Patrons and Honorary Members in 1817. At the foot, to the right of John Lees's name is a golden square (56 x 56 mm) stamped with a circular impression of Jenner with cattle around him, and a ship and St. Paul's.

Following the discovery of Edward Jenner (1749-1823) the Royal Jennarian Society was formed at the London Tavern on 19th January 1803. Under the patronage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the society's goal was to promote the eradication of smallpox through vaccination. By 1817 the Duke of Wellington was President, a position he still held 20 years later.

Stock no. ebc6128