[The road to biography: Emil Cold (1865-1953), the physician and the man in his time and his place].

This is a personal account of the author's search for primary sources of a biography of Emil Cold (1865-1953), a physician living and working in Esbjerg, Denmark. The work on the biography spanned several years of research, tracking down archives in soiled, pigeon-infested attics and dusty magazines, reading through local newspapers and union pamphlets, interviewing retired nurses and doctors, and establishing very inspiring contacts to the descendants of the Cold, Finsen and Lyngbye families.