Health Sciences Rare Books is one of the collections located in the Archives and Special Collections. This collection consists mostly of medical books donated to the Lommen Health Science Library. While the majority of the items are books, the collection does include anatomical stereograms, one movie film, and two video tape cassettes. Some of the items are facsimiles or copies, but most are originals. All the items can be found with the help of the library catalog. They cannot be checked out, but you can read the books in the Archives and Special Collections reading room.
Some characteristics of this collection are:
Year range: 1665 (original date; ours is a later facsimile) to circa 1980, with most of the items published between 1800 and circa 1980.
Most Frequent Subjects: anatomy, midwifery/obstetrics, and surgery
Most Frequent Authors: Osler and Gray
Items that caught my attention are:
- Abernethy’s The surgical and physiological works of John Abernethy. 1825. Subject is phrenology, which purports that the shape of the skull indicates mental faculties and character.
- Andreae Vesalii Bruxellensis Icones anatomicae, ediderunt Academia medicinae nova-eboracensis et Bibliotheca Universitatis monacensis. 1934 edition based on the 1555 and 1543 books. Subject is human anatomy, and the book is illustrated with beautiful woodcuts.
- Bichat’s Physiological researches upon life and death. Translated from the French by Tobias Watkins. 1809. Subject is biological life and death.
- Carey’s A short account of the malignant fever, lately prevalent in Philadelphia: with a statement of the proceedings that took place on the subject in different parts of the United States. Subject is yellow fever in Philadelphia.
- Dauer’s MAGANGA – ein wissenschaftlicer. Format 16mm film. Subject is African medicine from a very Eurocentric point of view. It shows trephination, which is drilling a hole in the skull to release pressure.
- Edinburgh University Stereoscopic Anatomy. Circa 1900. Subject is human anatomy. Edinburgh University was an early teaching and research center for surgery. Their stereograms show three-dimensional images of human anatomy.
- Gunn’s Domestic Medicine. 1835. Subject is health care you can do yourself when a doctor is not available, such as in frontier areas.
- Hooke’s Micrographia or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses. With observations and inquiries thereupon. Facsimile of 1665 book. This is the first book describing observations made through a microscope.
Contact the Archives and Special Collections for a list of what is in the collection.
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