Clinical images, imperial power and Bhau Daji’s secret cure for leprosy

An original research article co-authored by Martha Biggins published in Volume 15 of the Science Museum Group Journal. You can access the article for free here: http://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/browse/issue-15/clinical-images/

Abstract:

In 1874, Indian polymath physician Bhau Daji passed away suddenly – and the details of his secretive ‘cure’ for leprosy died with him. Drawing on a collection of clinical photographs and illustrations at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) Museum, this paper will unravel Daji’s place in the College’s empire-wide enquiry into leprosy in the mid-nineteenth century. We will argue, drawing on Elizabeth Edward’s (2014) work, that these images represent ‘photographic uncertainties’ – both conforming and undermining traditional conventions of colonial photography, while at the same time highlighting Daji’s place as an ambiguous figure in colonial medical hierarchies. We treat the images as ‘visual arguments’ (Fox and Lawrence 1998) testifying to the effectiveness of Daji’s secret remedy and the contagious nature of the disease. Despite the supposed objectivity of the photographic form, Daji’s treatment was never seriously investigated by the College of Physician’s leprosy committee. Transported from Bombay to London, we will consider the differential value placed on Daji’s medical expertise as captured by the patient photographs. In the spirit of the current movement to ‘decolonise collections’, we reflect on how this case study demonstrates the need for specialist medical museums to interrogate their own colonial pasts.