The Dr. Elias Samuel Cooper Papers consists of four feet of personal papers covering the period 1844-1862. The collection includes correspondence to and from Cooper regarding family matters, case reports, medical articles, lectures on medical and surgical procedures and the formation of a medical college and medical journal. The collection also includes lecture notes, his medical advertisements, articles written by Cooper, account books and an incomplete biography. In addition, the collection contains the research notes and materials accumulated by Dr. Ludwig Emge during his research on Cooper's life.

Dr. Elias Cooper was born in Ohio in 1922. He began the study of medicine at the age of sixteen and graduated from the University of St. Louis at the age of eighteen. Dr. Cooper practiced medicine in Danville and Peoria, Illinois from 1840-1855 before moving to San Francisco in 1855. Upon his arrival in San Francisco, Cooper established the Cooper Eye, Ear and Orthopedic Infirmary. He soon became a figure of controversv among the members of the established medical community because he advertised his medical practice and because he offered free lectures and demonstrations of his surgical techniques. Cooper was also favorably recognized for his contributions to medicine which included the use of chloroform during surgery, the use of alcoholic dressings to avoid infection and corrective surgical procedures for the clubfoot. Cooper was also a pioneer in the use of animals for testing surgical procedures.

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