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- Collection: Harvard Medical Library
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Aberrant visual projections in the Siamese cat
In 1981, Harvard researchers David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine with Roger W. Sperry of Caltech for their discoveries relating to information processing in visual systems. This article on the Siamese cat,…
An Introductory Lecture Delivered before the Medical Class of Harvard University
Introductory lectures to new medical students were customary at the opening of each academic year and often printed in pamphlet form or, as here, in the pages of a medical journal. James C. White cautions the students against specializing too early…
Medical Education : New Professorships in the Medical Department of Harvard University
The challenge to reform American medical education and bring it closer to the higher standards current in Europe started even before this editorial appeared in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. James C. White, a member of the faculty of the…
A Prospect of Exterminating the Small Pox, Part II
In this companion pamphlet to his original publication just two years earlier, Waterhouse recounts the popularity of smallpox inoculation following his experiments, as well as the consequent appearance of spurious cowpox matter which caused a…
Letter from Benjamin Waterhouse to Edward Everett
In the 1820s, years after his initial vaccination experiments, Benjamin Waterhouse remained closely involved with the subject. He used this letterbook to keep copies of correspondence with President John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, and other…
Course outlines for anatomical lectures and dissections
This notebook was used by John Warren as Assistant, later Associate, Professor of Anatomy, to record the daily outline of lectures and dissections for first and second-year students, from 1911 to 1916. The pages displayed record Warren's notes on…
John Warren to Secretary of War William Eustis regarding an opening at the Boston Marine Hospital
Two page letter from John Warren to Secretary of War William Eustis regarding an opening at the Navy's Boston Marine Hospital. Warren remarks that he hopes that the new appointee would employ favorable teaching conditions for the faculty and students…
Lectures upon Anatomy
Partially in the handwriting of Dr. John Warren, this volume of lecture notes, beginning on December 10, 1783, contains the earliest surviving record of teaching at Harvard Medical School. The lectures were delivered in Harvard Hall, on the campus in…
Photograph Album of J. Collins Warren
Following in the tradition of his father and grandfather, John Collins Warren-usually known as "Coll"-studied medicine at Harvard and then completed his education in England, France, and Germany.
This album of carte-de-visite style photographs was…
Pedigree of the Family of Warren
Shortly before his death, Dr. John Collins Warren (1778-1856) researched and published Genealogy of Warren with Some Historical Sketches (Boston : John Wilson and Son, 1854), tracing his family from its earliest origins down through the birth of his…
Account Book of John Collins Warren (1778-1856)
These personal accounts from 1822 and 1823 show the salary which Dr. John Collins Warren earned for the professorship of anatomy and surgery at Harvard Medical School and the fee charged for training of individual pupils. The account book also…
Catalogue of the Library of Dr. John Collins Warren (1778-1856)
Dr. John Collins Warren began his own book collection while in Europe in 1799, and added to it many medical titles when he inherited his father
Memoranda Book of J. Mason Warren (1811-1867)
Before J. Mason Warren departed to pursue his medical studies in Europe, Dr. John Collins Warren composed for him a volume of miscellaneous advice, suggesting lectures to attend and eminent physicians to meet, and charging him with certain…
Facial Moulages
During World War I, Dr. Varaztad H. Kazanjian (1879-1974) used his surgical skills to treat the soldiers severely disfigured during combat. In 1915, he was appointed chief dental officer of the First Harvard Unit, organized to serve overseas with the…
"Private L. H. Parham"
This report to the Senate outlines the treatment of Union prisoners of war by the Confederate forces at Belle Isle.
"Your committee, therefore, are constrained to say that they can hardly avoid the conclusion, expressed by so many of our released…
"Your committee, therefore, are constrained to say that they can hardly avoid the conclusion, expressed by so many of our released…
Newspaper clippings concerning the Tewksbury Investigation
A state almshouse for paupers at Tewksbury was founded in 1852. In the 1880s, charges of theft and abuse of the inmates–including the sale of bodies of the deceased to Harvard and other medical schools for anatomical dissection–were…
Somnia Danielis
The Somnia Danielis [“Daniel’s Dreams”] is a work on the interpretation of dreams; it originated in the eighth century.
Vaccine Inoculation
This unusual illustration of a child's arm with the distinctive mark of inoculation was inserted in Benjamin Waterhouse's own copy of The Origin of the Vaccine Inoculation (London : printed by D. N. Shury, 1801). The Origin was Edward Jenner's…
Waldo E. Boardman
Dr. Waldo E. Boardman (1851-1922) was the Museum's third curator, serving over thirty years, from 1891 until 1922. Boardman was also part of the class of 1886.
Charles Wilson
Dr. Charles Wilson (1842-1912) was the curator of the Museum from 1881 until 1891. Wilson was also part of the class of 1870.
The Harvard Dental School Museum
The only surviving photographs of the interior of the Dental Museum are found in issues of The Mirror, the yearbook of the Dental School, and Richard Locke Hapgood's published History of the Harvard Dental School (1930). This photograph is from the…
Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital, circa 1892
Engraving of Boston University School of Medicine and the neighboring Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital around 1892.
Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital, circa 1876
Engraving of Boston University School of Medicine and the neighboring Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital around 1876.
Menu and program from Delmonico's dinner
Following Holmes’ resignation of his professorship at Harvard, the physicians of New York hosted a public dinner in his honor. The dinner was held at Delmonico’s on April 12; the symbol of the event, embossed on the cover of the menu and…
Proceedings at the Delmonico's dinner
Following Holmes’ resignation of his professorship at Harvard, the physicians of New York hosted a public dinner in his honor. The dinner was held at Delmonico’s on April 12; the symbol of the event, embossed on the cover of the menu and…
Boat race on the Charles River
This illustration was printed in the edition of Ballou’s pictorial for June 20th and depicts the finish of a race of club boats on the Charles at Western Avenue a few days earlier. Holmes “who is very partial to this manly exercise”…
Charles Fremont Dight
Picture of Charles Fremont Dight from Bulletin no. 1 of the Dight Institute
Ticket granting privileges to the Marine Hospital at Charlestown, with engraving
Paper ticket granting medical privileges to the Marine Hospital at Charlestown by "The Physician of the Marine Hospital, Charlestown." Ticket adorned with rust-orange engraving that depicts the hospital and a vessel off-loading a wounded sailor. The…
"Armory Square Hospital Gazette," Armory Square, Washington, D.C. Vol. 2, no. 64. Page 1.
The Armory Square Hospital (now the site of the National Air and Space Museum) was active from August, 1862, through September, 1865, and many of the worst casualties of the Civil War battlefields were treated there. The patients and a former nurse…
"Charles B. Johnson, age 21, Hospital Steward, 130th Illinois Infantry Volunteers."
Charles B. Johnson, who served with the 130th and 77th Illinois regiments and became a physician after the war.
Late in life, he published a memoir of his experiences with particular attention to medical care and diseases of soldiers during the…
Late in life, he published a memoir of his experiences with particular attention to medical care and diseases of soldiers during the…
A book of the records of inoculation for the kine pock
A colleague and friend of Harvard's Benjamin Waterhouse, Sylvanus Fansher (1770-1846) successfully vaccinated over 35,000 individuals in New England, New York, and New Jersey before 1816. This register, maintained by the town council of Providence,…
Adventures of a deaf-mute
Another specimen of mendicant literature is this pamphlet by carpenter William B. Swett, recounting his explorations in the mountains of New Hampshire. Proceeds from its original printing were devoted to the Boston Deaf-Mute Mission, but Swett's…
Trial of Professor John W. Webster for the Murder of Doctor George Parkman
While few early photographs exist of the Harvard Medical School building on North Grove Street, considerable information about the structure and its interior can be found, ironically, in the published transcripts of the 1850 murder trial of John W.…
"The soldiers' manual : a hand book of useful and reliable information, showing who are entitled to pensions, increase, bounty, pay, etc. ... "
The manual's introduction states:
There is no particular class of wounds, injuries, or diseases, for which pensions are granted. It depends not so much upon the wound, injury, or disease itself, as upon the disabled condition arising therefrom. A…
There is no particular class of wounds, injuries, or diseases, for which pensions are granted. It depends not so much upon the wound, injury, or disease itself, as upon the disabled condition arising therefrom. A…
Medical directions written for Governor Winthrop
English physician Edward Stafford compiled a book of basic recipes for medical disorders such as madness, vertigo, and the king’s evil for John Winthrop (1588-1649), the governor of Massachusetts. At the request of Robert C. Winthrop, president…
Ticket of Admission to the Demonstrative Course of Eighteen Lectures on Phrenology
This ticket is inserted at the flyleaf of a copy of the third American edition of Spurzheim’s treatise, Phrenology, or the Doctrine of the Mental Phenomena (Boston: Marsh, Capen and Lyon, 1834) and was issued for his popular course of lectures…
On the importance of the study of anatomy. From the Westminster Review, with some additional remarks
This pamphlet on anatomy and dissection laws is attributed to English sanitary reformer, Thomas Southwood Smith, who would later perform the anatomical dissection of Jeremy Bentham in 1832. The "additional remarks," included in the reprinting of the…
Materia medica Americana potissimum regni vegetabilis
This first account of American plants and their medicinal uses was, oddly enough, published in Germany. Johann David Schöpf was a military surgeon who came to the country during the Revolutionary War and later traveled through New York,…
"Camp near Falmouth, Va."
This drawing, from 1863, is part of a letter to Sargent's young son, George; he wrote, I shall try and get leave to come home one of these days. I hope you will be glad to see me when I come. If you are not glad, I shall be very sorry, I can tell…
Royal Jennerian Society for the Extermination of the Small-pox
Following the discovery of Edward Jenner, the Royal Jennerian Society was formed at the London Tavern on January 19, 1803. Under the patronage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the society's goal was to promote the eradication of smallpox through…
Reactivation of the Dight Institute, 1947-1949: Counseling in human genetics
Physician Charles F. Dight (1856-1938) was the first president of the Minnesota Eugenics Society and promoted the state’s adoption of a law for the sterilization of the feeble-minded and insane in 1925. He bequeathed his fortune to the…
The Bibring Seminar
The article highlights the previous seven years of the seminar, with a focus on Dr. Bibring’s personal experience and the issues that are confronted during the group sessions.
Hymn 283
The so-called "Harvard Hymn" was sung by the Alumni Chorus at the Academic Session of the Dedication on September 26th. It was composed by John Knowles Paine, the University's late professor of music.
The principles and practice of medicine
In the first edition of his monumental textbook, Sir William Osler advocates the use of acupuncture for sciatica and, as here, lumbago "in acute cases, the most efficient treatment…. I can corroborate fully the statements of [Sydney] Ringer,…
Compulsion, the key to collectivism
Following U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor hearings on a proposed National Health Bill in 1946, the National Physicians Committee produced this pamphlet to warn against the danger of compulsory health care as a threat to the American way…
Correction of Midfacial Deformities
Published in 1971 in Surgical Clinics of North America, this article, written by Joseph E. Murray , M.D., Lennard T. Swanson, D.M.D., Melvin Cohen, D.M.D., and Mutaz B. Habal, M.D., illustrates the interdisciplinary nature of the diagnosis and…
A history of George W. Murray, and his long confinement at Andersonville
A pattern-maker in Springfield before the outbreak of the Civil War, George W. Murray was taken prisoner, along with his three elder brothers, after the battle of Spotsylvania and confined to the infamous Confederate prison at Andersonville. He…
A Discourse upon the Institution of Medical Schools in America
The first book to be published on medical education in America was written by Dr. John Morgan, who founded the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, the nation’s first medical school, in 1765. This particular copy is notable for…
The Museum of the Harvard Dental School
George Howard Monks, the professor of oral surgery in the Dental School, presented an overview of the Dental Museum and its holdings to the Boston Medical History Club in March, 1925. The paper was then printed in the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and…
A Collection of Papers Relative to the Transactions of the Town of Milton
The Selectmen of Milton, Massachusetts, assembled, published, and distributed this assortment of documents to prove the efficacy of vaccination against smallpox and encourage towns throughout the state to establish vaccination programs. Through the…
Medical Lectures
Dr. John George Metcalf of Mendon attended Harvard Medical School and used this notebook during the lectures of Drs. John Collins Warren, Jacob Bigelow, and Walter Channing. The notebook also served as Metcalf’s diary, and his account of life at…
"The empty sleeve : or, The life and hardships of Henry H. Meacham, in the Union army / by himself."
Henry H. Meacham, a former carriage-maker in Massachusetts, joined the 32nd Massachusetts Volunteers; his arm was blown off by a shell near Petersburg in June, 1864. He printed and sold this pamphlet to make a living for himself and his ailing wife.…
An act in addition to "An act more effectually to protect the sepulchres of the dead, and to legalize the study of anatomy in certain cases"
Photostat copy of "An act in addition to "An act more effectually to protect the sepulchres of the dead, and to legalize the study of anatomy in certain cases""
Report of the Select Committee of the House of Representatives ... Legalizing the Study of Anatomy
This state report provided key arguments for the repeal of the 1815 Act to Protect the Sepulchres of the Dead by the Massachusetts Legislature and so legalized dissection of human bodies for anatomical study. Dr. John Collins Warren, stressing the…
An act to protect the sepulchres of the dead.
Photostat copy of the State of Massachusetts' "An Act to Protect the Sepulchres of the Dead." Act was approved by the Governor on March 2, 1815.
Mémoires de la P. de Sales Laterrière et de Ses Traverses
Pierre Laterrière, who first studied medicine under M. de la Rochambeau in France, came to Harvard and received the degree of Bachelor of Medicine in 1789. He went on to practice medicine in Canada. Laterrière’s Mémoires,…
Plate 1 from De l'auscultation médiate
Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laënnec (1781–1826) was a French physician who invented the stethoscope in 1816. This illustration of his design for a monaural stethoscope is from his book about auscultation, called De l'auscultation médiate.
The North Grove Street Building
In 1847, Harvard Medical School erected a new building, on North Grove Street, adjoining Massachusetts General Hospital, on land donated by Dr. George Parkman—whose body would all too soon be found buried beneath it. The school building itself…
Harvard and Its Surroundings
This 19th century guidebook to Harvard University describes the current—and overcrowded—conditions of the Medical School on North Grove Street as well as some of the collections of the Warren Anatomical Museum. A building on Cambridge Street was…
The Surgical Treatment of Facial Injuries
Among Dr. Kazanjians important contributions to the literature of plastic surgery is the textbook, The Surgical Treatment of Facial Injuries. Co-authored with Dr. John M. Converse, this textbook is considered a classic work in the field. This diagram…
Fundamental psychological conceptions
To complement the oral history interviews of its C. G. Jung Biographical Archive, the Library collects actively in Jungian-related publications, such as this volume of transcripts of a series of lectures on dream analysis and the mind. A revised…
A Treatise on the Management of the Teeth
In addition to the collection housed in the library of the Dental School, there were also books, pamphlets, prints and pictures preserved in the Dental Museum, including this early text on Dentistry. The title-page engraving shows an inferior denture…
A Syllabus of the Lectures Delivered at the Massachusetts Medical College to the Medical Students of Harvard University
Harvard’s first professor of clinical medicine, James Jackson, found that the time spent with his students on the wards at Massachusetts General Hospital detracted from his formal lecturing, and so he published these brief notes of his lectures…
Autopsy of Dr. John Collins Warren (1778-1856)
John Barnard Swett Jackson was Harvard Medical School's first professor of pathological anatomy and first curator of the Warren Anatomical Museum. He published catalogues of the specimens in the museum of the Boston Society for Medical Improvement…
Glances and Glimpses, or Fifty Years Social, Including Twenty Years Professional Life
Harriot Kesia Hunt
Hay fever
Comic illustrator Augustus Hoppin chronicles the travails of Mr. A. Wiper Weeps as he suffers from an attack of hay fever. In the plate on the right, both allopathy and homeopathy are seen as useless to him. Only a trip in a hot-air balloon for the…
Lectures on anatomy and physiology at Harvard Medical School
After receiving his medical degree from Harvard, Holmes was granted the Boylston Prize in 1836 for his essay responding to the question “How far are the external means of exploring the condition of internal organs to be considered useful and…
Homϗpathy, and its kindred delusions
Holmes delivered this critical address on homeopathy to the Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge on February 16, 1842, and then published it with a companion lecture, "Medical delusions of the past," later that spring. Although Holmes…
The contagiousness of puerperal fever
Following his presentation on puerperal fever to the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, Holmes first published his findings in this journal in April 1843. The article was also reprinted in pamphlet form. The passage displayed here contains…
Remarks on the case of Dr. Spurzheim
During the early 1830s, Holmes was enrolled at Harvard Medical School, but also sought tuition privately with Dr. James Jackson. Of Holmes, Jackson said to his son, “He can tell you much that is interesting. Do not mind his apparent frivolity and you…
Memoranda of patients and cases treated
Little is known of Holmes’ private medical practice, but this volume of case notes derives from the period while he was on the Tremont School faculty and immediately following his research into the contagiousness of puerperal fever. The Judge…
Clinique de M. Louis
After studying medicine with James Jackson, Holmes continued his medical education in Europe, beginning in the summer of 1833. He studied with some of France’s most famous physicians, including Marjolin, Roux, Velpeau, and Andral; this is…
Teaching from the chair and at the bedside
At the opening of the term and the beginnings of debate over educational reform at the Medical School, Holmes gave this address to the students, partly in defense of the summer term of practical instruction over the formal lectures of the winter.…
Poem delivered at Dartmouth College
In 1838, Holmes was offered the professorship of anatomy and physiology at Dartmouth and held that position for two years before joining the faculty of Harvard. He was also asked by the New Hampshire Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa to deliver a poem…
The health-lift reduced to a science
The Reactionary Lifter was sold by the Health-Lift Company of New York as a muscle exercise and strength-building device, suitable for men and women. A testimonial letter by Holmes appears in this marketing brochure: “My three months’…
Fine structure of an unusual intracellular supporting network in the Leydig cells of Amblystoma epidermis
The Department of Anatomy preserved a set of reprints of articles by its members for over fifty years. The article displayed here illustrates research with the electron microscope. This is the first article published by Elizabeth D. Hay from her…
A List of a Few of the Attractions of the Museum
A brief overview of some of the highlights of the Dental Museum collection indicates the scope and breadth of the collection.
Catalog entry for Oliver Wendell Holmes denture
This version of the Museum's catalog was in use from the 1890s through 1907.
Here among the entries for items of mechanical dentistry are specimens 1562 and 1565
Here among the entries for items of mechanical dentistry are specimens 1562 and 1565
Catalogue of the Specimens in the Museum of the Harvard Dental School
This volume functioned as an accession book for specimens acquired by the Museum through 1896. Items were assigned an ordinal number and shelf location as received, and the information was later transcribed into the formal catalog. The items listed…
Museum Catalog Entries
Each specimen in the Dental Museum was assigned a serial number and cabinet and shelf location. Sheets like these were used to record information about the item and its acquisition and were then bound together into formal catalogs.
Announcement of the Dental School of Harvard University, Session 1868-69
This first annual catalog from the Dental School lists the faculty members and outlines the course of instruction. Among the qualifications for graduation may be seen the earliest reference to the existence of the Dental Museum: "He must also deposit…