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Linda Lohr is manager of the Robert L. Brown History of Medicine Collection in the Health Sciences Library.
Tell me about the History of Medicine Collection. What does it contain?
The History of Medicine Collection was established as a separate department within the Health Sciences Library in 1972 by then director C.K. Huang and was renamed in honor of Dr. Robert L. Brown in 1985. The core of the present-day collection is comprised of three major book donations: the library of Dr. James Platt White, one of the founders of the Medical Department, which in 1846 was the entire University of Buffalo; the library of Dr. George Burwell, a prominent 19th century Buffalo physician, and books from the library of Dr. Roswell Park, professor of surgery at the university and founder of the cancer research institute. Over the years, through purchase and donations, the collection has grown to well over 13,000 volumes of 19th century monographs with particular strengths in obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, dentistry, pharmacology and psychiatry. In addition, there are more than 500 volumes of pre-19th century books, as well as 20th century works. The Bullough History of Nursing Collection and the Edgar R. McGuire Historical Medical Instrument Collection also are housed in the History of Medicine Collection. Yearbooks and materials documenting the history of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences are another component of the collection.
Who was Robert L. Brown?
A 1944 graduate of the University of Buffalo School of Medicine, Dr. Robert L. Brown became the school's assistant dean in 1959. In 1960, he was appointed acting dean and later, as the school's first associate dean, he initiated a program to rebind and conserve the rare book collection. In 1974, Dr. Brown became the medical school archivist and consultant to the Health Sciences Library. Upon his retirement in 1985, he was appointed consultant to the University Libraries. Dr. Brown maintained a close relationship with the Health Sciences Library until his death in 1995. He established a generous endowment fund that allows for the ongoing purchase of rare medical books.
What are some of the more valuable or more well known items in the collection?
Some of the more well-known items in the collection are a 1568 edition of Vesalius' famous work on anatomy, "De Humani Corporis Libri Septem;" William Harvey's 1653 "Anatomical Exercitations Concerning the Generation of Living Creatures…," and Thomas Addison's "On the Constitution and Local Effects of Disease of the Supra-renal Capsules" (1855), a rare work on the diseases of the adrenal glands. In 1996 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the university, the History of Medicine Collection received the University Libraries 3 millionth book, Jacob Rueff's "De Conceptu et Generatione Hominis" (1554), a famous work in the field of obstetrics. Two of my personal picks (out of many possibilities!) are a recent purchase, "De Succo Pancreatico" (1671), a book on the pancreas by Regnerus de Graaf, and Nicolaas Tulp's "Observationes Medicae "(1685). Dr. Tulp was the artist Rembrandt's physician and the subject of his painting, "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp."
What are some of the more bizarre items in the Edgar R. McGuire Historical Medical Instrument Collection?
Some of the more unusual items in the Edgar McGuire Historical Medical Instrument Collection are anatomical models of the eye, ear and larynx made from papier-mâché by Dr. Louis Auzoux, a 19th century French physician; an 1850 trephine used to drill holes in the skull for brain surgery; a number of post mortem instruments, and a thumb-operated dental drill from 1873.
What types of items are in the Bullough collection?
The History of Nursing Collection was established in 1990 by Bonnie Bullough, former dean of the UB School of Nursing, and Vern Bullough, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of History at Buffalo State College. Among the items in this collection are the 1860 first American edition of Florence Nightingale's "Notes on Nursing…;" Civil War-era nursing books; books covering numerous specific areas of specialization, such as fever, camp, surgical and psychiatric nursing, and early nursing textbooks, some published prior to 1900.
How are these collections used? Can anyone come in and view the collections, or are they only for use in scholarly research?
The History of Medicine Collection is open to anyone who has an interest in the history of medicine and the health sciences. This includes university faculty, staff and students; researchers in Western New York and elsewhere, and members of the Western New York community in general. Visitors are welcome and tours and appointments to use the collection under the supervision of the manager can be arranged.
What question do you wish I had asked, and how would you have answered it?
Why are collections such as the History of Medicine important? With so much emphasis today on the Internet and electronic resources, it's sometimes easy to forget the satisfaction and the pleasure involved in using print materials, particularly older ones. While electronic and online resources certainly are valuable tools, there is still a lot to be said for holding and using a book that people actually read centuries before and that still exists today, or for looking at antique medical instruments that demonstrate how medicine, surgery and the health sciences have evolved. Knowledge of history is crucial to understanding the present and the future.