EXTRAORDINARY OBJECTS-

EXTRAORDINARY STORIES:
CELEBRATING THE
NLM COLLECTIONS

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
8600 ROCKVILLE PIKE BLDG. 38 •

BETHESDA MARYLAND 1996• •

Illustration fron Jan Cemy's 'Knieha Lekarska Kteraz Slowe Herbarz...' (Numberg, 1517)
I
Extraordinary Objects Extraordinary Stories: Celebrating the NLM Collections.
-

Bethesda, Maryland: Published by the Friends of the National Library of Medicine in conjunction with an exhibit at the
National Library of Medicine from July October, 1996.
-

Acknowledgements
Funding to publish this catalog was provided by Elsevier Science, Inc.

Exhibit Curators Margaret Kaiser and Sheila O'Neill

-

Conservator Martha-Lucia Sierra

-

Exhibit Assistants Cynthia Ronzio and A. Karl Yergey

-

Graphics Joseph Fitzgerald and Troy Hill

-

Editorial assistance was provided by Gretchen Hermes and Elizabeth Tunis.

Special assistance was provided by Dr. Victoria A. Harden, NIH Historian and Curator, Stetten Museum.

We wish to thank Dr. Marshall Nirenberg for allowing us to quote from his unpublished oral history interview with Dr.
Ruth Harris.

We also wish to thank Dr. Elizabeth Fee for her guidance and encouragement throughout this project.

Single copies of this catalog may be obtained without charge by writing to;
Elizabeth Fee, Ph.D.
Chief, History of Medicine Division
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20894
EXTRAORDINARY OBJECTS-
EXTRAORDINARY STORIES:
CELEBRATING THE
NLM COLLECTIONS

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
8600 ROCKVILLE PIKE BLDG. 38
•

BETHESDA MARYLAND 1996

•
•
 EXTRAORDINARY OBJECTS-
EXTRAORDINARY STORIES:
CELEBRATING THE
NLM COLLECTIONS

As we near the end of the 20th century, we have a heightened sense of

the past, as well as the present. Through the history of medicine we
can see how fundamental concepts of knowledge
about nature and the body have been redefined
over the centuries. This exhibit of books, manu-
scripts, and ephemera from the National Library of
Medicine’s historical collections represents the diver-
sity of medical thought and practice over time.

On display is a sampling of the Library’s most val-

ued acquisitions treasures from the last five hun-
dred years of Western medical history. These primary sources repre-
sent both the extraordinary moments of discovery, as well as the com-
mon and everyday practices of healing and health care. Unique in
form and substance, these remarkable books and documents are arti-
facts of our cultural heritage, offering a glimpse into other times and
places.

This exhibit is a celebration of the Library's rich and diverse historical

collections, as well as a tribute to donors, the Friends of the NLM, and
Library volunteers. Their contributions to the Library are warmly
appreciated and acknowledged with gratitude.
Celebrating the NLM assumptions and redefining its includes a wide variety of for-
Collections. future goals. In the midst of mats and literature types, from
these constant changes, medical the great works, such as William
Every great library has its concepts and practices, under- Harvey's De Motu Cordis (1628),
treasure chest of rare and valu- stood in the context of their peri- to biographical works, personal
able books and manuscripts, od and culture, can provide a narratives, first-hand accounts,
carefully preserved and often common lens through which to diaries, and ephemeral materials,
protected from public view. look at society. During all of such as broadsides and pam-
Exhibits offer an opportunity to human history, people have phlets. These primary sources
present some of these collections encountered traumatic injury, are unique reflections of the
to the public, allowing viewers disease, and chronic illness; times in which they were creat-
to appreciate their beauty. practitioners and their patients ed.
reflect on their meanings, and have found ways of responding
consider their connections to the to these problems. By studying
present. In many ways. the documents they leave behind
historical exhibits are about the (correspondence, diaries, news- Brief History of the Historical
creation of cultural memory papers, photographs, and songs, Collections
through the preservation and to name a few), we gain a feeling
presentation of history. of kinship with them—and some- In 1865, when Dr. John Shaw
These treasures, collected times reach insights relevant to Billings assumed the director-
from other times and places, current medical problems. ship of the Library of the
reflect the long history of human Recognizing that human expe- Surgeon General's Office (now
cultural achievement. The rience rests upon the daily round the National Library of
objects on display in this exhibit of seemingly ordinary activity, Medicine), the Library already
are representative of the wide our definition of cultural trea- had a small medical collection,
variety of published and unpub- sures has expanded to include initially assembled by Surgeon
lished sources collected by the much that at one time would General Joseph Lovell. But the
Library—books, manuscripts, have been deemed unimportant. pre-eminence of the history of
diaries, letters, reports, lecture What we define today as gems medicine collection at NLM as
notes, illustrations, photographs, of human culture may be objects we know it today, owes much to
and a range of ephemeral mate- that were never intended to be the creative spirit and tireless
rials, such as broadsides, health preserved for posterity. We efforts of Dr. Billings. During his
certificates, and diplomas. The cherish them all, ordinary and tenure (1865-1895), Billings
materials represent the major exceptional, because they are acquired many early works,
specialities of Western medicine essential to our exploration and including incunabula (books
since Gutenberg's invention of understanding of who we are printed before 1501), as well as
printing from moveable type in and what we can become. manuscripts, prints, and pho-
the mid-fifteenth century. One tographs. By 1880, when the
important story underlying the first volume of the Index-
earlier items on display is the Catalogue of the Library of the
social transformation brought Building the Collections Surgeon General 's Office was pub-
about by printing technology. lished, the Library contained
With the invention of printed The National Library of some 50,000 books and 60,000
text and pictures, books became Medicine's historical acquisitions pamphlets. As Principal
powerful vehicles of knowledge, program is based on a broad Assistant Librarian, Fielding H.
validating and preserving the interpretation of medical Garrison continued the Library's
observations of their authors. thought and practice. The interest in the history of medi-
Historical sources can inspire NLM's goal is to collect medical cine. Garrison produced a list
us to understand our present history in its fullest—not only the of classic texts in the history of
through connections to, and con- exquisite and rare, but also the medicine, which served as the
trasts with, the past. The field ordinary and commonplace, not basis for the famous Garrison
of medicine is continually only the "firsts," but also the and Morton bibliography, and in
remaking itself, challenging past everyday. Thus, the collection 1913, published his Introduction
to the History of Medicine. published medical literature, way to the Library often through
In the summer of 1942, rare including books, journal vol- circuitous routes. Some arrive
items in the collection were umes, pamphlets, and theses, in pristine condition, others in
moved from Washington, D.C. printed from the 15th through varying degrees of deterioration.
to a safer wartime location in the early 20th century; manu- The Library provides basic first
Cleveland's Dudley Allen scripts ranging in date from the aid and restoration onsite by
Memorial Library. The history 11th century to the present; and way of cleaning and repair, and
collection was referred to as the fine prints, and other graphic specialized rehousing. Micro-
"Cleveland branch" until 1945, materials from the 15th century filming, deacidification, and
when it was renamed the to the present. The collection highly specialized treatment and
History of Medicine Division. It consists of more than 600,000 repair are done offsite at a
remained in Cleveland until 1962 printed works, 3,000 linear feet regional, state-of-the-art conser-
when the new building for the of modern manuscripts, 3,000 vation center.
Library—now the National historical audiovisuals, and The National Library of
Library of Medicine—was 60,000 historical prints and pho- Medicine's historical collections
opened in Bethesda. The histor- tographs. are a cultural repository that
ical collection was insured for six continues to be added to and
million dollars, packed into four preserved through an active
vans, and sent to Washington in acquisitions and conservation
the company of Pinkerton detec- Preservation of the Collections program. And as we move into
tives. the twenty-first century, we look
Special collections, by their forward to sharing our treasures
very nature, represent a wide with an even broader audience
diversity in format, physical of users through the creation of
Scope of the Collections condition, and degrees of artifac- digital collections on the World
tual and informational value. Wide Web.
The History of Medicine The collections at NLM are
Division maintains a pre-emi- drawn from one thousand years
nent collection of the world's of history and have made their
 ANATOMY

The
study of human of anatomical dissection, and greatly influenced the accep-
anatomy through dis- could be used even in the tance of dissection in medical
section only began to be absence of a cadaver. Andreas schools, which in turn played
accepted in medical schools Vesalius (1514-1564) was the a central role in advancing
in the 15th and 16th centuries. first to meet this need with anatomical knowledge of the
Illustrated printed textbooks the publication of De Humani human body in the 15th and
then became a necessary Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem in 16th centuries.
requirement for the teaching 1543. This classic medical text

Ketham, Johannes de. Fasciculus Medicine. Venice, 1500.

Fasciculus Medicine first published in 1491, is the earliest medical treatise to include illustrations. The
,

text is comprised of medical essays, including Mondino dei Luzzi's Anothomia (1316), the first known
manual of dissection and the foremost text in the teaching of anatomy for more than two hundred
years. This illustration of a dissection scene depicts the traditional role of the physician, elevated and
seated, while a demonstrator performs the dissection.

3
 ANATOMY

Picture printing in the 16th century permitted and encouraged

anatomists and naturalists to invest care and skill in their illustra-
tions as records of their own observations. Repudiations by
authors of pirated or plagiarized editions made clear that control
was an issue in the pictorial representation of one's own observa-
tions.

Vesalius, Andreas (1514-1564).

Zergliederung dess
Menschlichen Kdrpers, oder
Verfass der Anatomiae, insofern
dieseVoe Mahlern und
Bildhauern, ja insgemein alien
undjeden Kuenstlern... ingle-
ichem auch denen der Medicin
und Chirurgie zugethanen sehr
dienlich und erwuenscht ist.
Augsburg, 1723.

This second edition of Zer-

gliederung dess Menschlichen
Kdrpers (Dissection of the
Human Body) contains nine-
teen illustrations made from
the original wood-blocks used
in Vesalius' De Humani
Corporis Fahrica (1543).
Vesalius was an experienced
dissector and his anatomical
drawings, based on direct
observation, are notable for
their accuracy as well as artis-
tic beauty. The muscle figure
shown here is one of a series
of full page illustrations
which are linked by a contin-
uous landscape view of the
Colli Euganei region near
Padua, Italy. The portrayal
of "living" skeletons and mus-
cle figures, used also by
Leonardo da Vinci, presents
anatomy in a visually animat-
Ed form.
 ANATOMY

A letter by Vesalius, printed

at the beginning of the 1543
edition of the Fahrica, marks
the first appearance of the
problem of plagiarism in
medical illustration. In the
letter, Vesalius accuses partic
ular authors and publishers
of having stolen from his
Tabulae Anatomicae.

Vasse, Loys. L 'Anatomic du

Corps Humain. Paris, 1558.

This French translation of

Vasse's collection of Galen's
anatomical writings contrasts
with the lavishly illustrated
folio anatomies of Vesalius
and Valverde. A follower of
Valverde, Juan. Anatomia del features contained in the
Galen, Vasse did not at first
appreciate the value of Corpo Humano. Rome, 1559. Valverde anatomy include the
now famous "flayed figure"
including illustrations in
anatomical texts. Later, when The anatomical textbook, shown here, done by
he did publish a folio edition Anatomia by Juan de
, Valverde's friend, the artist
with four accompanying Valverde de Hamusco, is the Caspar Becerra, who had
most successful of the worked with Michelangelo in
plates, he was accused of
Vesalian "plagiarisms." There the Sistine Chapel of the
plagiarizing from the work of
are forty-two engraved plates, Vatican.
Vesalius.
the majority of them bor-
rowed from Vesalius' De
Humani Corporis Fahrica. New

5
 SURGERY

Up to the 19th century, surgery was still being performed by barber surgeons, for whom hair-cutting
and shaving was their primary means of income. The growth of hospitals and spread of anatomy
schools in the 18th century, boosted surgery's prestige. By 1800, surgery as a field of medical practice
was no longer associated with the traditional barber and bleeder. The status of surgery continued to
grow into the 20th century and the professional and social position of the surgeon today is one of con-
siderable prestige.

Ryff, Walther Hermann (d.1548).

Die kleyner Chirurgi. Strassburg,
"

1542.

Ryff was a physician and surgeon

of Strassburg and wrote books on
distilling and anatomy. This is his
first work on the topic of surgery.
Surgery was regarded as manual
labor and surgical illustrations
show operations and implements.
Surgical textbooks of the 16th cen-
tury are full of such illustrations.
Shown are two instruments used
to remove a bladder stone by
opening and stretching the urethra.

6
 SURGERY

Morton, William Thomas

Green (1819-1868).
To Surgeons and Physicians.
Boston, 1846.

This printed letter from Dr.

Hunter, William (1718-1783). Cline, Henry. "Lectures on William T. G. Morton is a sin-
"Anatomical, Physiological, Surgery." London, c. 1790. gle page circular, folded and
and Surgical Lectures given mailed to his Boston medical
by Dr. Hunter in Litchfield This 18th century manuscript colleagues in November,
Street." London, 1760. of surgical lectures, in pris- 1846. The letter announces
tine condition, covers an Morton's discovery of ether
This manuscript contains extensive range of proce- and represents his earliest
William Hunter's detailed dures, including mastectomy, public statement on its use.
lectures given from his home cataract removal, lithotomy, Ether had been successfully
in Covent Garden on physi- and tonsillectomy. Influenced used as an anesthetic as early
ology, surgery, anatomical greatly by the prominent as 1842 by Crawford Long,
preparations, and dissection. London surgeon, William but his findings were not
Hunter was considered an Hunter, Cline was described published until after Morton
eloquent lecturer and his by students as "a cautious, had already announced the
talks attracted large audi- sound, and successful sur- anesthetic effects of the com-
ences, including medical geon, an excellent lecturer." pound.
practitioners, students, and Some considered him "the
members of the public. greatest the staff of St.
Hunter was a well-known Thomas' has ever known."
proponent of dissection and Lecture notes such as these
his lectures were among the are extremely valuable
first permitted to be heard sources of medical informa-
after the relaxation of the tion.
London surgeons' rules
against human dissection in
1745.

7
 SURGERY

Brown, Joseph B. "Memoranda of Cases: Case Book, June 5,

1845 June 15,1849". Detroit, 1845-1849.
-

Joseph B. Brown's remarkable notebook chronicles surgical treat-

ments of prison inmates with a variety of injuries and physical
deformities. The notebook includes sketches by Brown and
descriptions of patients, such as John Thompson, the patient
shown here. This illustration drawn by Brown shows exactly how
Thompson's harelip and cleft palate were repaired. Brown treated
deformities with plastic surgery, which had been introduced as
early as 1786.

8
Epidemics continued to dev-
astate cities and countries
well into the 19th century.
The organization of physi-
cians, hospitals, and public
health activities arose out of
the rapid changes brought
about by the Industrial
Revolution. Since World
War 11, more and more coun-
tries have developed public
health programs to control
disease and improve the
health of their populations.
Today, the World Health
Organization serves as a
coordinating body among the
countries of the world to
maintain the health of the
world's population.

Hydrophobia. An Account of
the Awful and Lamentable End
of a Whole Family. Glasgow,
1824.

This broadside, printed in

Newcastle, circa 1824, relates
the story of the "lamentable
end" of a family stricken with
hydrophobia after drinking
milk from a cow which had
been bitten by a mad dog.
Hydrophobia, or fear of
water, was a symptom of
rabies. An "efficacious" treat-
ment for hydrophobia is pro-
vided for the readers' benefit.
Broadsides such as this were
a way for town officials to
warn the public of health
hazards.

A gift to the Library from

Worth Daniels, Jr., M.D.

9
 PUBLIC HEALTH

Pregon y Vando, cjue por

Mandado de su Magestad se ha
Publicado en su Carte, para que
se Guarde en Ella, y en las
Demas Ciudades, Villas, y
Lugares Destos Reims,
Conforme a lo Acordado por el
Consejo. Madrid, 1630.

In response to a plague out-

break ravaging Milan in the
1600s, strict measures were
imposed. This extremely rare
quarantine proclamation,
issued in 1630 by Philip IV of
Spain, restricts entry into
Spain to those holding a cer-
tificate of health. Gratis. Noi Priori Della Terra. stature, clothing, hair, the
[Viterbo, 1657?] presence of a beard, and any
A gift to the Library from other distinguishing marks.
Sheldon G. Cohen, M.D. in This is a health certificate
memory of his parents, issued in Viterbo, near Rome, The quarantine, or the passive
Samuel and Dorothy G. following the great plague isolation of healthy people,
Cohen. outbreaks of 1656 in Rome, was common after the 1450s
Genoa, and Naples. Such cer- and was one of the earliest
tificates, carried by travelers, public health practices.
declared their bearers were
free of contagion and permit-
ted their travel from city to
city during the pestilence.
The traveler was identified by

10
PUBLIC HEALTH
Chamberet, Jean-Baptiste-
Joseph-Anne-Cesar Tybras
de. Manuscript report,
"Rapport sur le Cholera mor-
bus observe en Pologne," a
cholera passport, and map.
1831.

Between 1829-1830, cholera

claimed more than 900,000
lives worldwide. In 1831,
Jean-Baptiste de Chamberet,
a highly distinguished mili-
tary surgeon, was sent to
Poland with a French medical
team to study the cholera
epidemic and develop a pro-
gram to limit the spread of
infection. A copy of his
report is shown here, as well
as the cholera passport he
used to gain access to hospi-
tals in the stricken regions.
This small map is one of two
included in the collection.

11
 PHARMACY

Herbals were a popular source of information about medicinal remedies throughout medieval Europe,
although works of medical botany had been produced since antiquity. Until there was moveable
type, the variability of hand-copied illustration limited the didatic use of pictures in favor of text.
Printed books in turn inherited from their manuscript predecessors this tendency to present illustra-
tions subordinate to text

Cerny, Jan. Knieha Lekarska Kteraz

sloive Herharz: aneb Zelinarz: zvelmi
uziteczna: z mnohych knieh latinskych.
y zskutecznych praezij wybrana: poezi-
na se sstiastnie. Nurnberg, 1517.

Cerny was a master of botanical

description; his work presents infor-
mation on over 440 plant, animal,
mineral, and chemical remedies. The
woodcut illustrations were added by
the editor who took them from an
earlier work by Johann von Cube.
This copy, one of only five known
copies, has fifty leaves of manuscript
pharmaceutical recipes. It is hand
colored and includes extensive anno-
tations.

12
 PHARMACY

Culpeper, Nicholas (1616-

1654). The English Physitian ,

or an Astrologo-Physical
Discourse of the Vulgar Herbs
of this Nation. London, 1652,

A rare first edition, this pop-

ular English herbal was print-
ed in London in 1652.
Culpeper provides recipes for
the ordinary person seeking
treatment for common ill-
nesses; the book was so pop- Di Petris, Andrea. "II Bottanico Curioso in cui si vede le vive
ular that in the first year it Piante Delineate, et Miniate al Naturale, Locodove nascono.
was printed, two counterfeit Forma, Qualita, et Virtu Loro, Cavati da Gravi Antichi, et
editions were also published. Moderni Autori, et dalla Esperienza Quotidiana Probata, Come
Culpeper was an astrological anco di quelle non pui mai trovati, ne men scritte d'altri Autori, le
herbalist who incurred the quale con Somme Dilligenza, Gustate, Considerate, et Probate in
wrath of the Royal College of diversi modi et maniere." Padua, 1730.
Physicians of London by
publishing an unofficial This carefully written and illustrated manuscript documents
translation of the London herbal medicines from the region surrounding Padova, Italy.
Pharmacopoeia. The English Over 200 herbs and plants are described by Di Petris in this
Physitian enjoyed large com- exceptionally rare manuscript. Colorful botanical drawings
mercial sales, but did not win enhance the detailed descriptions of physical structure, geograph-
the acceptance of the London ical locations, medicinal uses, and associated folklore.
medical profession.

13
 PHARMACY

Frauendoerffer, Philipp.
Tabula Smaragdina Medico-
Pharmaceutica. Norimbergae,
1699.

Frauendoerffer, a physician
and pharmacist, compiled
this list of six hundred phar-
maceutical preparations,
drawn from ancient and
more contemporary sources
of the period. This edition,
printed in Nuremberg in
1699, was the first of many
editions of this popular work.
It includes a list of diseases
with their chemical treat-
ments.

Royal College of Physicians

of London. Pharmacopoeia
Collegii Regalis Londini.
London, 1682.

This London Pharmacopoeia

was printed in 1682. This
beautiful pocket edition is
bound in contemporary black
morocco, with spine gilt in
compartments, gilt panelled
sides with acorn ornaments,
and silver clasps and corner
pieces.

14
 PHARMACY

Tissot, Johann Jacob.

Catalogus Medicamentorum tam
Simplicium quam
Compositorum ut & Chymica
Arte Praeparatorum, quae hoc
tempore in Pharmacopolio.
Bremen, 1713.

This is a list of pharmaceuti-

cals offered for sale in Tissot’s
pharmacy in Bremen. The
drugs are listed alphabetical-
ly, giving both the Latin
name and its German equiva-
lent. The prices have been
added by an 18th century
hand.

15
 MILITARY MEDICINE
The two objectives of military medicine, to keep the army in good health, and to treat those fallen in
combat, have produced many medical innovations and inventions through the centuries, especially in
the areas of surgery and the control of infectious diseases. Ambroise Fare's treatise on gunshot
wounds, Dominique Jean Larrey's "flying ambulances", Silas Weir Mitchell's work on injuries of
nerves, and Walter Reed's work on yellow fever are all triumphs of military medicine. General
Washington's concern for the health of the troops of the Continental Army and his attempts to
improve their living conditions are well documented. Unfortunately, sanitation and hygiene left
much to be desired and more soldiers died from disease than from battle in both the American
Revolutionary War and the Civil War.

Letter from George Washington to the Honorable Joseph Jones, Esq., written at
Army headquarters in Bergen County, New Jersey, September 9,1780.

General George Washington's letter to Congressman Joseph Jones recommends

Doctors Craik and Cochran for continued service in the Army's Medical
Department. The Department was being reorganized as a result of continued
high rates of illness, lack of supplies, and professional jealousies between
physicians. This letter, written thirteen months before the British surrender at
Yorktown, indicates that General Washington "ha[d] nothing more at heart,
than the health of the troops."

16
MILITARY MEDICINE
George Washington,
Instructions for Soldiers in the
Service of the United State s.
Concerning the Means of
Preserving Health. Fishkill,
New York, 1777.

General George Washington

issued this broadside to
emphasize the importance of
cleanliness as a means of pre-
serving health. Citing the
biblical example of the
"army" of Israelites under the
command of "general" Moses,
Washington indicates that his
soldiers, like Moses' soldiers,
should wash, stay dry, and
frequently change their
clothes and bedding in order
to prevent disease.

17
 MILITARY MEDICINE
"Enrolled. An Act to Reorganize
and Promote the Efficiency of the
Medical Department of the
Provisional Army." Signed by
Thomas S. Bocock and Robert M. T.
Hunter. October 4,1862.

This very rare document shows the

rank and financial compensation of
medical officers in the Army of the
Confederate States of America.
Signed by the leaders of the
Confederate House of
Representatives and Senate, the
document shows that medical offi-
cers' pay was equivalent to that of
men of similar rank in the
Confederate cavalry.

18
The first hospitals in Western Europe were essentially almshouses, providing refuge for the sick and
the poor. In the 19th century, in response to population increases, there was a notable growth in the
number of hospitals. By 1800, new anatomical and clinical approaches to medicine had developed
and the hospital gradually ceased to be primarily a site of charity, care, and convalescence. The
"clinic" became central to medicine as the principle site for bringing laboratory research and bedside
observation together.

Nightingale, Florence (1820-

1910). Notes on Matters
Affecting the Health, Efficiency,
and Hospital Administration of
the British Army, Founded
Chiefly on the Experience of the
Late War. London, 1858.

This rare copy of Notes is con-

sidered to be one of the most
significant printed reports on
wartime hospital organiza-
tion and administration, yet it
is probably Nightingale's
least known work. Prepared
at the request of the British
Secretary of State for War, the
book includes an account of
Nightingale's experience in
the Crimean War and details
her recommendations for the
improvement of hospital
administration and sanita-
tion.

19
HOSPITALS
Der Pesthof. Hamburg, 1746.

This broadside is one in a

series of appeals, written in
verse, to encourage contribu-
tions for the construction of a
new hospital in Hamburg,
Germany. The Hamburg
Plague Hospital had become
a municipal hospital and
poorhouse, and its resources
were stretched to the limit.
The broadside shows the hos-
pital's severe over-crowding,
as well as the variety of cases
being treated at one time. In
the background, mentally ill
patients are shown housed in
cells. In the foreground, a
patient suffers from elephan-
tiasis and a surgeon performs
an amputation.

20
 HOSPITALS
Medical Journal of the U.S.
Brig 80/zzh, October 1, 1862 to
February 22,1864.

During the American Civil

War, the U.S. Brig Bohio was
stationed in the Gulf of
Mexico on blockade duty.
For nearly a year and a half.
Surgeon's Steward,
F. Higman, kept this medical
journal. His daily entries
describe symptoms, diagno-
sis, and treatment of approxi-
mately 180 seamen. This
very rare journal provides
unique documentation on
health conditions aboard a
navy ship during the Civil
War.

Stearns, Amanda Akin.

Amory Square Hospital nurs-
ing diary, 1848-1864.

Nurse Stearns kept this diary

while working in the Armory
Square Hospital in
Washington, D.C., during the
spring and summer of 1864.
She writes of hospital affairs
and relates Civil War anec-
dotes told to her by soldiers
recuperating in the hospital.
In 1909, her diary was pub-
lished as The Lady Nurse of
Ward E. The many deletions
and word changes through-
out the diary suggest that
Nurse Stearns intended her
diary for publication.

21
 MIDWIFERY
Traditionally reserved to females, the role of birth helper was known in England as "midwife". Male
attendents had rarely been present at the birth of a child, but by the end of the 17th century male mid-
wifery had become the fashion in certain parts of Europe. Obstetrical skills improved in the 18th cen-
tury, bringing about a radical transformation of childbirth. In England, and later in North America,
the traditional "granny midwife" became displaced by a male operator, the "man-midwife". Today, the
American College of Nurse Midwives, with a membership of over 8,000, is an international organiza-
tion committed to the improvement of maternal-child health care worldwide, with programs estab-
lished in many underserved areas of the world.

Albertus Magnus, (1193-1280).

Secreta Mulieru[m] & Virorum
Nuperrime Correcta & Eme[n]data.
Paris c. 1500.

This extremely rare medieval

treatise on gynecology is signifi-
cant for its theories of conception,
nutrition of the fetus, and the role
of astrology in procreation. The
text explores the influence of the
planets on the fetus and its posi-
tions, as well as on stillbirths,
signs of pregnancy, and sterility.
Authorship of the treatise has
been traditionally attributed to
the 13th century Dominican
philosopher, Albertus Magnus
(Albert the Great, Bishop of
Ratisbon).

22
 MIDWIFERY

MacKenzie, Colin (d. 1775)

and Lowder, William (d.
1801). "Lectures on the
Theory and Practice of
Haighton, John. "Lectures on Midwifery." London, c.
Midwifery," delivered by Dr. 1775.
Haighton and taken down by
Giles Roberts. London, 1795. This well-preserved manu-
script notebook contains the
Compiled by the apothecary lecture notes of Doctors Colin
and man-midwife, Giles MacKenzie and William Smellie, William (1697-1763).
Roberts, this text describes Lowder, who were in the Midwifery diploma. England,
the anatomy and physiology forefront of obstetrics in 18th 1750.
of pregnancy. Known as "an century London. MacKenzie,
excellent obstetric operator" a student of Smellie, was This signed diploma certifies
by his admirers, Haighton’s instrumental in the discovery that John Mapples attended
detractors called him "the of the relationship between Doctor William Smellie's
Merciless Doctor" for his the circulatory systems of midwifery courses. Smellie
ruthless and numerous physi- mother and fetus. Lowder was a dominant figure
ological experiments. perfected the vectis, a forceps among 18th century obstetri-
with a single blade. cians and a successful teacher
of midwifery. Over a period
of ten years, Smellie gave
nearly 300 lectures and pub-
lished, A Treatise on the Theory
and Practice of Midwifery
(London, 1752), in which he
provides an accurate descrip-
tion of parturition and advo-
cates the safe use of forceps
in delivery.

23
 MIDWIFERY
This diploma certifies that
Lalla Mary Goggans success-
fully completed midwifery
training in 1942. Goggans'
early work was with the
granny midwives in West
Florida.

American College of Nurse-Midwives Archives

(1946-1976).

These items a diploma and photograph are from

- -

the archives of the College. The College is a profes-

sional organization representing certified nurse
midwives practicing in the United States and inter-
nationally. It has established programs in many
underserved areas of the developing world to
improve maternal-child health care.

24
 CHILDREN'S HEALTH
Until the latter half of the 19th century there was no distinction
made between medical care for adults and children. For the most
part, children of the poor had little or no access to medical atten-
tion. Epidemics of plague, measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, chick-
en pox, diphtheria, and other acute febrile illnesses took an espe-
cially heavy toll on the young. In America, in the years following
the Civil War to the turn of the century, the subject of child health
became a public health issue. In 1912, the Children's Health
Bureau was created, marking the entry of the federal government
into the general field of child health care. By 1931, when the
American Academy of Pediatrics held its first meeting, the results
of pediatric and scientific research had raised the general stan-
dards of child health care in America and lowered the rate of
infant and child mortality.

Sainte-Marthe, Scevole de. (1536-

1623) Paedotrophiae Libri Pres. Paris,
1584

This book, the first edition of a

didactic poem about the care and
feeding of children, was written by
the poet Sainte-Marthe after his
infant son survived a serious ill-
ness. The first part of the poem
deals with prenatal care, the second
with infancy, and the third with the
common diseases of childhood.

25
CHILDREN'S HEALTH

Atlas der Hygiene des Kindes.

Berlin, c. 1922.

This illustration is one of

ninety-eight plates designed
as a pediatric care teaching
aid. The graphs, photo-
graphs, and illustrations,
drawn by contemporary
artists, give practical informa-
tion and guidance to mothers
and other child-care
providers. These messages
are conveyed through
images, with minimal com-
mentary. These colorful
plates are examples of early
directives on "modern" child-
care in Germany after World
War I.

26
CHILDREN'S HEALTH
Letter from Margaret Mead
to Lawrence K. Frank, July
10,1931.

The influence of Freudian

psychoanalytical theory on
American anthropology
resulted in the growth of cul-
ture and personality studies
in the 1920s and 19305. In
this period, anthropologist
Margaret Mead carried out
her now famous studies in
Samoa and New Guinea, in
which she examined the
enculturation processes by
which children are brought
into adulthood.

In this letter. Mead writes to

Lawrence K. Frank, request-
ing guidance with her pro-
posed research among the
"primitive" children of New
Guinea. Frank was a leading
figure in child psychology
and in the forefront of the
movement in the 1920s and
1930s to establish child-study
institutes in the United States.

From the Lawrence K. Frank

Papers, 1914-74.

27
CHILDREN'S HEALTH
These photographs and comments
come from an unpublished manu-
script, "How Your Child Develops
Through Play/' written by Lois Meek
Stolz in 1940. An early pioneer in the
child development movement, Stolz
advanced a holistic approach to the
socialization of children in the belief
that understanding children's feel-
ings, motivations, and actions was
key to effective childrearing.

From the Lois Meek and Herbert

Rowell Stolz Papers, 1917-1984.

28
 GENETICS
Many illnesses are caused by a defect in a single gene: a single segment of the hereditary
material or DNA. Genetic techniques are already used to diagnose and treat such disorders. In the
late 1990s we are witness to one of the great adventures of human biology The Human Genome
-

Project. The sequencing of the human genome is the equivalent of exploring the fine structure of mat-
ter. The Human Genome Project aims to identify the position of every gene in every chromosome,
and the order of every one of the millions of base pairs. The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda
is one of the leading laboratories in the world carrying out this research.

Nirenberg, Marshall W. (1927 ). Notes on the Genetic Code, ca. 1964-1966.

In 1968 Marshall W.Nirenberg shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology with Robert W.
Holly and Har Gobind Khorana. Nirenberg's work on the genetic code involved description of the
mechanisms by which protein synthesis was directed in living cells. Deciphering the genetic code has
allowed us to understand for the first time how life processes in all living things are governed.
29
GENETICS
King Gustav of Sweden pre-
senting the Nobel Prize in
Medicine or Physiology to
Marshall W. Nirenberg. 1968.

Co-workers Heinrich Matthaei and Marshall

Nirenberg in the laboratory, c. 1961.

30