Abstract 701 Historical Perspectives Poster Symposium, Saturday, 5/1

The Perinatal Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has contributed to three major tributes in memory of the late Dr. Virginia Apgar (1909-1974).

A USPS Postage Stamp

In 1994, the USPS dedicated a definitive 20c postage stamp in honor of Dr. Apgar at the annual meeting of the AAP in Dallas, TX. Since then 451,000,000 of the Apgar postage stamps have been printed.

The Apgar Memorial String Quartet

A special event of the dedication was the playing of the Apgar Memorial String Quartet, four instruments that Dr. Apgar crafted under the tutelage of Carleen Maley Hutchins. Dr. Hutchins made the two violins, the viola and the cello that Apgar had crafted available to the Perinatal Section who purchased them with funds generated from donors of $25.00 or more and major gifts from the Columbia University College of P&S Alumni Association and the Departments of Anesthesiology, Obstetrics/Gynecology and Pediatrics. They were donated to the College of P&S as the Apgar Memorial String Quartet.

They are played regularly by students and faculty and will be displayed in a special humidity and temperature controlled instrument case in the Helen and Michael Wu '56 Music Room. This instrument case and the support of the instruments is provided, in part, by donors who received a lapel pin with an image of the Apgar stamp.

The Apgar Photo/Graphic

Two 1998 24"×34" photo/graphics of Dr. Apgar will be displayed. They include an image of her 1994 USPS postage stamp. These pieces were made possible by the assignment of the rights to the classic photograph of Dr. Apgar examining a newly born infant to the AAP Perinatal Section by Elizabeth Wilcox, who served as the photographer for P&S for many years. A 13"×15" poster of either piece is available from the AAP Perinatal Section at 141 Northwest Point Blvd, Elk Grove Village, IL, 60007-1098. A donation of $20.00 or more is expected plus $2.00 for USA and $4.00 for international shipping. Interest in the photo/graphic from several international neonatologists has been expressed and the translation of the poster into Japanese, German, Italian and Spanish is under consideration in the near future.

These tributes to the icon of professional women have been made possible by the support of the AAP Perinatal Section and hundreds of donors who have joined in this memorial project.