Signed photograph of Watson and Crick with their three-dimensional model of the double-helix DNA molecule

8 x 10 in. (image size 8 x 8 ¼ in.). Gelatin silver print. Fine

Signed by Watson and Crick in the white lower margin. The discovery of the structure of DNA was the cornerstone event in modern genetics and biology and one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.

When they published the discovery, Watson and Crick concluded with a classic understatement: "The structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest. . . . It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material."

This photograph was one of four similar poses made by amateur photographer Anthony Barrington Brown at the Cavendish Laboratory soon after the announcement.

No scientific discovery has ever had such far-reaching implications for the betterment of mankind. In 1962 Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize for medicine.