Földvári Books

Founder of experimental physiology: a signed photograph

[Fiedler, H.]; [Purkyně (Purkinje), Jan Evangelista]

Signed Photo Portrait of Jan Evangelista Purkyně [Purkinje].

Prague: Fiedler, 1867. Albumen photograph. Signed and dated on the verso. Ca. 6 × 10 cm. Fine condition Fine condition.

A scarce signed photograph of Purkyně, founder of experimental physiology and namesake of the Purkinje cells and fibers.

Jan Evangelista Purkyně (1787–1869) was a Bohemian physiologist and a central figure in the development of experimental physiology. He studied medicine and philosophy at the University of Prague, receiving his doctorate in 1819. In 1823 he accepted a chair at the University of Breslau (Wrocław), where in 1839 he established the world’s first physiological institute and, in 1842, the first dedicated physiological laboratory.

His contributions span vision science, anatomy, and physiology. He described the visual phenomenon later termed the Purkinje effect, whereby red objects appear to darken more rapidly than blue objects as light levels decrease. He also proposed an early system for the classification of fingerprints (1823). In neuroanatomy, he identified the large cerebellar neurons now known as Purkinje cells, and in cardiology, the Purkinje fibers that conduct electrical impulses within the heart. He was also among the first to introduce the scientific terms plasma and protoplasm.

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Price: €5,000.00