Original 1896 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Medical Council License to Practice Medicine and Surgery – Issued to Prentiss Agnew Brown, M.D.

This is a large, impressive, and highly decorative original late-Victorian medical license certificate issued by the Medical Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It grants Prentiss Agnew Brown the right to practice medicine and surgery in the state.

Key details from the document:

• Issued under the authority of the Board of Medical Examiners representing the State Medical Society of Pennsylvania.

• Candidate examined May 18, 1893, and formally granted the license on July 20, 1896, at Harrisburg.

• Enrolled as No. 701 in Medical Council Record Book, Volume 2, page 201.

• Features the elaborate engraved header “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – Medical Council,” the Pennsylvania coat of arms, multiple ornate calligraphic flourishes, and the signatures of seven examining physicians plus the President (Nathan C. Schaeffer) and Secretary (James W. Latta).

• Original gold foil embossed seal of the Medical Council of Pennsylvania is present and still attached.

Recipient history

Prentiss Agnew Brown, M.D. (February 3, 1875 – July 19, 1945) was born in Curllsville, Clarion County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (then the medical department of the Western University of Pennsylvania) in 1896 and received this state license the same year. He practiced in the New Kensington / Parnassus area of Westmoreland County for decades. By the 1930s he specialized in radiology (listed as Roentgenology in contemporary directories), with an office at 901 Fifth Avenue and residence at 400 McCargo Street in New Kensington. He married Lula Blanche Atchison in 1902 and was a long-time local physician until his death in 1945. He is buried in Logans Ferry United Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Parnassus. He was a respected regional doctor but not a nationally famous figure.

Physical description & condition

• Approximate overall size: 540 mm wide × 420 mm tall (roughly 21¼” × 16½”).

• Printed and hand-lettered on heavy period paper with extensive black ink calligraphy.

• The certificate has been glued to an old, heavy posterboard backing (common practice for display pieces of this era).

• Expected age-related condition: overall toning, scattered foxing, some edge wear, minor stains, and light surface soiling consistent with a 130-year-old document. The gold seal is present and largely intact. The paper shows typical handling and age character; no major losses of text or critical signatures observed in the photographs.

This is a genuine period document, not a reproduction. Ideal for medical history collectors, Pennsylvania local history enthusiasts, radiology/medical specialty collectors, or anyone seeking an authentic large-format Victorian physician’s credential for display.