Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win
A letter written by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia in 1787 advocating vaccination has been sold at auction for $1.26 million, along with a portrait of her.
The portrait by Dmitry Levitsky, as well as the letter about the benefits of vaccination against smallpox, were auctioned by McDougall's in London on Dec. 1.
The founder of the auction house, William McDougall, confirmed the figure. The buyer was not named.
"The Catherine the Great letter received great interest and publicity in Russia and the West given its relevance to current events," he said. "Moreover, the portrait was an unusual contemporary painting of Catherine by a Russian, and so is important to the history of Russian art."
The famous Russian empress was the first in the country to be vaccinated against smallpox after her future husband was disfigured during an epidemic of the disease.
She wrote the letter to explain how to organize a vaccination campaign on a large scale, warning that without vaccination, there would be "great harm especially among the common people."
Catherine the Great (1729–1796), also known as Catherine II, wrote the letter, "about inoculating against smallpox in parts of present-day Ukraine" during a trip to Crimea. It was addressed to Count Piotr Aleksandrovich Rumiantsev.
The letter is the first known document regarding Russia's first vaccination campaign, according to the auction house, which specializes in Russian art.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...vaccination-sells-for-1-26-million/ar-AARusFX
The portrait by Dmitry Levitsky, as well as the letter about the benefits of vaccination against smallpox, were auctioned by McDougall's in London on Dec. 1.
The founder of the auction house, William McDougall, confirmed the figure. The buyer was not named.
"The Catherine the Great letter received great interest and publicity in Russia and the West given its relevance to current events," he said. "Moreover, the portrait was an unusual contemporary painting of Catherine by a Russian, and so is important to the history of Russian art."
The famous Russian empress was the first in the country to be vaccinated against smallpox after her future husband was disfigured during an epidemic of the disease.
She wrote the letter to explain how to organize a vaccination campaign on a large scale, warning that without vaccination, there would be "great harm especially among the common people."
Catherine the Great (1729–1796), also known as Catherine II, wrote the letter, "about inoculating against smallpox in parts of present-day Ukraine" during a trip to Crimea. It was addressed to Count Piotr Aleksandrovich Rumiantsev.
The letter is the first known document regarding Russia's first vaccination campaign, according to the auction house, which specializes in Russian art.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...vaccination-sells-for-1-26-million/ar-AARusFX