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The article presents materials and analysis conducted by the author of a scientific study dedicated to the reflection in philately and philocarty of the memory of the famous Austro-Hungarian obstetrician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818-1865). This article is the first in a series of research articles by the author, which presents the life story, and professional and scientific feat of this doctor and scientist, who lived during the era of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and contributed to the formation of the world doctrine of asepsis and antiseptics, as well as their use in the prevention of postpartum septic complications in parturient and postpartum women. The author of this research article, as illustrations for its textual material, presents a large wide variety of philatelic materials (postage stamps, postal envelopes, and special cancellation stamps), as well as found postcards from different countries of the world and their different year's issue thematically dedicated to Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis.

Keywords: Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, philately, postage stamps, postal envelopes, special cancellation postmarks, postcards, philocarty, screenshot copies.

►IGNAZ PHILIPP SEMMELWEIS: HIS SCIENTIFIC FEAT IN REFLECTION OF PHILATELY AND PHILOCARTY

Konstantin Anatolyevich Bugaevsky¹*

¹Department of Medical and Biological Foundations of Sports and Physical Rehabilitation, The Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University, Nikolaev, Ukraine.

The purpose of this research article is to present and analyze, found by its author, philatelic and phylocartic materials of the research, as examples of preserving the memory of the world-famous doctor, obstetrician-gynecologist, and scientist, originally from Austria-Hungary, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis.

Research objectives

To achieve the goal of this study, its author set the following tasks

1. On the Internet, on thematic medical, philatelic, and philocartistic sites of collectors, select as many as possible thematic collection materials dedicated to the life, medical, and scientific activities of the doctor and scientist Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis.
2. All philatelic and phylocartic materials obtained as a result of the search and selection were carefully selected and systematized by the author.
3. All these selected materials were converted by the author of the article into color and black and white screenshot copies, which were later used in this article as thematic illustrations in the text.

Hypothesis of the study

In preparation for this study, its author had the following working hypothesis: there is a fairly large number of a wide variety of collecting means, and, in particular, philatelic and philocarty, which are thematically dedicated to the memory of such a famous doctor, obstetrician and gynecologist as Ignatz Philip Semmelweis, and his famous use of hand washing, as an aseptic means, in the process of childbirth and the prevention of postpartum septic complications, in the reflection of such collecting means as philately (on postage stamps, envelopes, postal blocks, and card maximums, thematic postmarks) and in philocarty - on postcards dedicated to the memory of I.F. Semmelweiss.

Materials and methods

When writing this research article, its author used research methods such as literary critical analysis of available domestic and foreign materials on the issue under study. Also, materials from special sites of collectors involved in collecting philatelic and philocartic materials, as well as other, various means of collecting, dedicated to medicine, its various directions, and achievements of medical heroes and, in particular, I.F. were studied. Semmelweis. All this led to the appearance of a series of original research articles by the author dedicated to the memory of I.F. Semmelweis, both in philately and philocarty and in numismatics - on commemorative medals and coins, as well as in phaleristics, on memorial signs, awards and thematic badges associated with the personality of this scientist.

Introduction

The study of a wide variety of issues related to medicine and its heroes, in various medical areas, is a very relevant, interesting, and sought-after issue! In surgery and all its areas, as well as in obstetrics and gynecology, the issues of both asepsis and antiseptics, as well as postpartum, purulent-septic complications and maternal mortality from them are very relevant. Actively practicing Austro-Hungarian obstetrician-gynecologist, I.F. Semmelweis, like a number of his foreign colleagues, doctors, and researchers, also engaged in a detailed study of the causes and mechanism of development of childbed fever, which ultimately led to the identification of the causes of this pathological condition. Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis studied this issue very actively in his obstetric clinic in Budapest. As a result of his numerous studies, he introduced, in the years 1846-1849, thorough hand washing into daily practice, both by doctors, midwives, and other medical personnel involved in childbirth, which led to very significant success in reducing the incidence of puerperal fever in postpartum women and mortality from it [1-5].

Results and discussion

Start your story about the reflection of memory, about I.F. Semmelse, in different means of philately and philocarty. I would like to see a selection of postage stamps and different years of issue dedicated to this scientist. Naturally, the largest number of postage stamps in memory of I.F. Semmelweis, published in different years and, to coincide with his different biographical events, in the scientist’s homeland - in Hungary and Austria, which, during the scientist’s life, were a single country - the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Figure 1. A selection of postage stamps from around the world dedicated to Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis

Figure 1 shows a selection of both these postage stamps and stamps of other countries, such as, in particular, the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the State of Grenada, Transkei, and Ukraine (which issued the most of all other states together taken – 31 postage stamps) [6-9]. In total, to date, all countries of the world have jointly issued 44 postage stamps dedicated to the memory of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis.

Figure 2. A selection of first-day postal envelopes and artistic marked envelopes dedicated to I.F. Semmelweis

Further, in Figure 2, a large thematic selection is presented - 28 first-day envelopes and artistically marked postal envelopes, from a number of countries around the world, dedicated to the memory of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis [6-9].

Figure 3. Postcards and card maximums dedicated to the memory of I. F. Semmelweis

Further, in Figure 3, a small selection of postcards and cards, thematically dedicated to the memory of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, is presented, in a total of 13 screenshot copies [6-9].

In conclusion of this article, a small selection of screenshot copies, and special postmarks (almost all, together with postage stamps), thematically dedicated to the memory of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, is presented. The first of them is a postage stamp and a thematic postmark, with a facsimile signature of the scientist himself - Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis [6-9].

Figure 4. A selection of special postmarks dedicated to the memory of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis

This concludes the first of the author’s research articles dedicated to the memory of the world-famous obstetrician-gynecologist, Ignaz Philipp Semelweis and his fight against childbed fever. In the near future, the author plans to publish two more of his research articles devoted to the presentation of numismatic (on commemorative medals and coins) materials, as well as a selection of faleristic materials thematically dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the memory of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, in reflection of different means of collecting.

Conclusions

1. The author of this research article fully succeeded in achieving the set tasks and goals, both in the research he conducted and in writing its results and analysis of the results obtained.
2. In total, this article presents 93 screenshot copies of both philatelic and faleristic collection materials.
3. The use of color and black and white screenshots as illustrations for the text of the article significantly embellished and enriched the article, and was quite appropriate and appropriate.
4. This author's research article is a valuable and voluminous addition to our knowledge of the history of medicine and its heroes and, in particular, to the information already available about the life and scientific achievements of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis and his contribution to world medical science.

1. Barshtein V.Yu., Bugaevsky K.A. (2017). Asepsis and antiseptics in works of medal art Bulletin of SMUS74. 3(18): 28-37.
2. Bugaevsky K.A. (2018). History of obstetrics and gynecology on commemorative medals // Almanac of Young Science. Orenburg. 2: 20-27.
3. Makatsaria N.A. (2016). Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis Obstetrics, gynecology, and reproduction. No. 1.
4. Morgoshia T.Sh. (2018). Professor Ignaz Semmelweis (on the 200th anniversary of his birth) Bulletin of surgery. 177(4).
5. Semmelweis 200 – Semmelweis University
6. Used stamps ANDORRA ANDORRE Postes (2021) - Homenatge esforços tothom davant COVID-19
7. Hungary 1318 Ignaz Semmelweis.
8. [PDF] Medical Philately (Medical Theme on Stamps)
9. Hungarian Stamps -  Ignaz Semmelweis.

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