The bulk of this collection consists of Clerf's publications - those listed individually and those bound together in three volumes. The remainder includes items such as biographical sketches from the Jefferson yearbook, The Clinic, several printed addresses, photocopies of newspaper clippings, and correspondence with several Scott Memorial librarians to and from Clerf.
N.B. There is also one item from this collection stored separately as an artifact - a commemorative plate from the American Laryngological Association.
Louis H. Clerf (1889-1989) was born in Ellensburg, WA on January 8, 1889. He was the fourth of nine siblings. Clerf graduated from St. Martin’s College in Olympia, WA in 1908. He then began his medical education at the University of Oregon Medical School. Two years later, in 1910, Clerf transferred to Jefferson Medical College, where he completed his M.D. degree in 1912. He remained at Jefferson as an intern (1912-1914) and later as Chief Resident Physician at Jefferson Hospital.
In 1916, Clerf left Jefferson to serve as an active-duty Marine in France during World War I. He also lectured in otolaryngology at the Naval Medical School. Clerf pursued postgraduate education at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and the New York Throat and Lung Hospital before returning to Jefferson in 1922. He became a Demonstrator of Laryngology and assisted Chevalier Jackson at Jefferson’s Bronchoscopic Clinic. Clerf eventually became Chief of the Clinic in 1924, and succeeded Jackson as Professor of Bronchoesophagology in 1934. By 1934, he had been appointed Chair of that department.
Throughout his career, Clerf made several contributions and improvements to the practice of otolaryngology. These include: treatments and excision of glottic carcinoma; vertical partial laryngectomy; surgical treatment of bilateral vocal cord paralysis; and the excision of hypopharyngeal diverticula. Additionally, his was an early voice warning against the health problems caused by tobacco smoking. Clerf was affiliated with numerous medical societies, serving as the president of the American Laryngological Association; the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society; the Pennsylvania State Medical Society; the Philadelphia County Medical Society; and the American Broncho-Esophagological Association. He was also President of the Alumni Association of Jefferson Medical College.
Clerf taught at Jefferson until his retirement in 1954, at the age of 65. He spent his later years in Florida. Louis H. Clerf died on October 24, 1989. He was 100 years old.
I. Biography (c.1930-c.1989)
II. Addresses (1936-1952)
III. Publications (1924-1972)
VI. Events and Ephemera (1933-1981)
V. Pictorial (1933-1954)
VI. Donor Correspondence (1978-1987)
Louis H. Clerf Papers, MS-040. Thomas Jefferson University - Archives and Special Collections.
Louis H. Clerf Papers, MS-040. Thomas Jefferson University - Archives and Special Collections. http://aisrmedia1.jefferson.edu:81/repositories/2/resources/10 Accessed May 13, 2024.