One of the early publications of Niels Jerne, the first director of the Bas
er Institute of Immunology is an article that has not been recognized fully
for its implications concerning Burnet's clonal selection theory. Heinz Ko
hler, Srini V, Kaveri, Michel D, Kazatchkine, and Thomas Kieber-Emmons atte
mpt here to put the matter in historical perspective.