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The British Journal of Dermatology: the early years

2013; Oxford University Press; Volume: 169; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/bjd.12639

1365-2133

A. Anstey,

Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices

The British Journal of Dermatology and Syphilis begat the British Association of Dermatology and Syphilology, with Malcolm Morris overseeing events; this, in essence, is Archibald Gray's account of events leading to the foundation of the British Association of Dermatology and Syphilology in 1921.1 Archibald Gray, a gifted leader, made significant contributions to the rise of U.K. medical institutions in the early 20th century, including the Royal Society of Medicine, the Royal College of Physicians and the British Association of Dermatologists.2 3 4 His multiple successes were built upon outstanding skills as an administrator. To be effective as an administrator, Gray knew that institutional funds and the annual budget must be secure, in order to permit the executive to get on with the business of leadership. Thus, his evident anxiety when describing the hand‐to‐mouth existence of the early years of the British Journal of Dermatology (BJD) is no surprise.1 Indeed, Gray's account of these early years focuses almost exclusively on finances, or lack of them, and how the journal still managed to survive. Within 2 years of launching, the founders of the BJD, Malcolm Morris and Henry Brooke, had lost £100. This was clearly unsustainable, and led to wider sharing of financial liability for the journal, initially by six dermatologists, and subsequently among a further 13. By 1906, the journal accounts showed losses of about £1000 for the previous 11 years, funded by these 19 altruistic dermatologists.