Science, Medicine & Natural History from Peter Harrington

Science can't be stopped, but unfortunately, some of the consequences of discovering how to split the atom were not so good. For example, there is the atomic bomb. Warfare has resulted in incalculable destruction and loss of life over the years, but never quite so much so quickly as happened in 1945, when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Item 4 consists of 27 photographs of Hiroshima, some before, many just after the dropping of the bomb. Some have appeared in publications, including Life Magazine, while others appear never to have been made available to the public. Such tiny particles can lead to monumental destruction. £1,500 (US $2,473).

Getting back to those tiny beings, the bacteria, Sir Alexander Fleming was the man who discovered how to deal with them. He discovered penicillin. It was all by accident. Fleming was trying to develop better antiseptics, which led him to possessing cultures of bacteria. He was not always very careful with them, and some mold grew in one of his cultures. Fleming noticed that the bacteria around it had died. The mold was penicillin, and Fleming had discovered antibiotics. Millions of lives have been saved, and continue to be saved, thanks to his discovery. However, Fleming was never able to produce more than minute quantities of the wonder drug, and did not believe it could be made in viable amounts. He moved on, but fortunately, a decade later, with the onset of World War II, the need for such a drug in treating wounds spurred greater research. Others figured out how to produce penicillin, and later other antibiotics, in the needed quantities. Fleming only wrote one full-length book about his discovery. Item 83 is a first edition, first impression of Penicillin. Its Practical Application, published in 1946. This copy has been inscribed by Fleming to Gordon Barrett Mitchell-Heggs, a dermatologist who wrote a couple of articles about the use of penicillin. £2,500 (US $4,125).

Peter Harrington may be reached at +44 (0)20 7591 0220 or mail@peterharrington.co.uk. Their website is www.peterharrington.co.uk.