Browse Items (222 total)
- Collection: Boston Medical Library
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Traite ou reflexions tirees de la pratique sur les playes d'armes a feu
Although the Countway's collections have long held copies of the second (1740) and also the 1748 and 1759 editions of Le Dran's famous treatise on gunshot wounds and military surgery, as well as the first English translation from 1743, this fine copy…
Eugenical sterilization in the United States
Harry H. Laughlin was director of Eugenics Record Office for thirty years and assisted Charles B. Davenport in first publishing the Eugenics Research Association’s Eugenical news to promote the activities of the Office. In 1922, he compiled and…
A most excellent and learned woorke of chirurgerie, called Chirurgia parua Lanfranci
The 16th century English surgeon, John Hall, translated the medieval Chiurgia parva of Lanfranc and added to it his lament for the poor training of surgeons in his own time. His poetical defense of surgery was intended to show "the behavour that is…
Tumors among the Chinese
Many of the patients treated at the Ophthalmic Hospital in Canton by Peter Parker in the 1830s were immortalized in large color portraits produced by the artist Lam Qua (1801-1860). This album contains rare watercolor studies for a number of the Lam…
Ueber Schwarzwasserfieber
The Hyams Collection includes the Hand-apparat, an extensive working pamphlet collection of August von Wassermann (1866-1925), a German bacteriologist who worked with Robert Koch and discovered the Wassermann test for syphilis. The collection focuses…
Fasciculus medicinae
Although notable as one of the first incunables acquired by the Boston Medical Library, this first edition of the Fasciculus medicinae is also a cornerstone in the history of medicine, as it contains the first detailed anatomical illustrations ever…
Moxibustion illustration from Amoentitatum exoticarum
Some of the best descriptions and illustrations of acupuncture and moxibustion appear in the work of Englebert Kaempfer who traveled in Japan in the early 1690s.
Acupuncture illustration from Amoentitatum exoticarum
Some of the best descriptions and illustrations of acupuncture and moxibustion appear in the work of Englebert Kaempfer who traveled in Japan in the early 1690s.
The history of Japan, giving an account of the ancient and present state and government of that empire
A later translation into English of the work of Englebert Kaempfer, who traveled in Japan in the early 1690's, as part of an historical survey of Japan
Nasology, or, Hints towards a Classification of Noses
This extended joke at the expense of phrenology passed through several editions in the mid-19th century and was published under the pseudonym of Eden Warwick. George Jabet maintains that the nose, besides being an ornament to the face, or a…
De Febribus
Isaac Israeli was born in Egypt and studied widely in natural history, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. He settled in Kairwan, Tunisia, where he served as court physician to the caliph and wrote several esteemed medical and philosphical works in…
Facsimile telegram
Following Holmes’ resignation of his professorship at Harvard, the physicians of New York hosted a public dinner in his honor. Each guest was given a mock telegram from “The American Rabid Telegraph Company,” quoting lines from…
The Second International Exhibition of Eugenics
Harry Hamilton Laughlin was chairman of the Committee on Exhibits associated with the Second International Congress and organized this display at the American Museum of Natural History in the fall of 1921. A gift of $2,500 from Mrs. E. H. Harriman…
Eugenics, genetics and the family : scientific papers of the Second International Congress of Eugenics
There were three international meetings of eugenics researchers during the period of the movement’s greatest influence and activity. This volume reprints the scientific papers from the Second Congress, held at the American Museum of Natural…
Malleus maleficarum
This is a first edition of the Malleus maleficarum [The Witches' Hammer], the foremost legal and theological handbook on witchcraft and demonology. It describes the operations of witches, remedies against spells, and the judicial proceedings of…
An Introductory Discourse, to a Course of Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Physic
This pamphlet is a presentation copy to the Boston Medical Library from its author, David Hosack, a celebrated New York physician who was in attendance at the duel of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1804. Four of the five items bound together…
Almanach ad annum 1494
Almanacs were used to record the most propitious days and times for purging, bloodletting, and pharmaceutical manufacture according to astrological and astronomical events. This specimen for the city of Erfurt in 1494 includes woodcuts depicting…
Homeopathic Educational Services Flyer
This mail order supply house in California markets homeopathic books, tapes and DVDs, software, and home medicine kits. The firm's motto is "Homeopathic medicines: natural drugs that work," and it promotes homeopathy as "a 21st century science since…
Over the teacups
The poem "To the eleven ladies who presented me with a loving cup" was reprinted in Over the teacups (1891), Holmes’ late collection of essays and poems following in the vein of The autocrat of the breakfast-table. This copy of the first…
To the eleven ladies who presented a loving cup to me
Holmes responded to the gift of the cup with a poem, “To the eleven ladies who presented me with a loving cup.” The poem was first printed privately, in just twelve copies; each was signed by Holmes and copies sent to his eleven admirers.…
1836 Boylston Prize Dissertations
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…
A dissertation on acute pericarditis
This is the manuscript of Holmes' thesis, submitted as part of the degree requirements at Harvard Medical School. Following his return from his sojourn in Europe, he compiled the thesis from lectures of Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis he had attended…
A mortal antipathy : first opening of the new portfolio
First edition of Holmes' novel, A mortal antipathy : first opening of the new portfolio. After Holmes’ death, his friend and fellow novelist William Dean Howells (1837-1920) said of Holmes' work, “His novels all belonged to an order of…
The guardian angel
First edition of Holmes' novel, The Guardian Angel. After Holmes’ death, his friend and fellow novelist William Dean Howells (1837-1920) said of Holmes' work, “His novels all belonged to an order of romance which was as distinctly his own…
Elsie Venner : a romance of destiny
First edition of Holmes' novel, Elsie Venner. This is a presentation copy from Holmes to Henry Jacob Bigelow (1818-1890). After Holmes’ death, his friend and fellow novelist William Dean Howells (1837-1920) said of Holmes' work, “His…
An introductory lecture, delivered at the Massachusetts Medical College
Holmes assumed the professorship of anatomy and physiology at Harvard in the fall of 1847 and delivered this introductory lecture to the students on November 3. In an overview of the medical developments of Boston, Holmes alludes here to “the…
Poems
In addition to The collegian, some of Oliver Wendell Holmes's (1809-1894) poems then appeared in Illustrations of the Athenæum gallery of paintings (1830) and The harbinger : a may-gift (1833). Holmes’ Poems (1836) represents the first…
Puerperal fever, as a private pestilence
There was a great deal of initial resistance and hostility to Holmes’ ideas, particularly from two noted Philadelphia obstetricians, Charles D. Meigs and Hugh Lenox Hodge. In 1855, a reprint of the article appeared as Puerperal fever, as a…
The army hymn
This patriotic musical poem was first printed in the June issue of The Atlantic monthly and also as part of a program for a prize-giving ceremony at the Boston Latin School on May 25, 1861, just a few weeks after Confederate forces began firing on…
My hunt after 'The Captain'
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., abandoned his studies at Harvard College to join the Massachusetts Volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil War. He was wounded on October 21, 1861, at the battle of Ball’s Bluff, in Virginia, and attended by a…
Poem at the centennial anniversary dinner
of the Massachusetts Medical Society
Holmes recited this poem at the anniversary celebration of the Society, held on June 8, 1881, and it was subsequently printed in the Boston medical and surgical journal. The poem contrasts the fortunes of priests, lawyers, and physicians but “I…
The autocrat of the breakfast-table
Beyond the sphere of poetry, the literary reputation of Oliver Wendell Holmes rests largely on the loosely connected series of essays, poems, and aphorisms which forms The autocrat of the breakfast-table. The essays were originally printed in issues…
Practical dissections
Richard M. Hodges held the position of Demonstrator of Anatomy under Oliver Wendell Holmes from 1853 to 1861. He published this manual on human dissection for the student in 1858, then revised it thoroughly and reprinted it, as here, in 1867.
This…
Medical history of contraception
Sociologist Norman Edwin Himes (Ph.D. Harvard, 1932) researched problems of population, birth control, and marriage and family relations. His Medical history of contraception tracks the development of birth control from antiquity to the 1930s; the…
Organon of the art of healing
The fifth edition of Hahnemann's Organon was translated into English by Conrad Wesselhoeft of Boston. It is clear from his introduction, however, that while still critical of allopathic practice, Wesselhoeft was not a homeopathic fundamentalist:…
Organon der rationellen Heilkunde
The Organon is Samuel Hahnemann's statement of the theory behind homeopathy and a fundamental text of the new movement. It went through five different editions during Hahnemann's lifetime and was widely translated; new editions and translations…
Hahnemann Society membership certificate
The Hahnemann Society was an honorary students' society at Boston University, organized in 1880. Dr. James Krauss (1866-1939) received his medical degree magna cum laude in 1889 and practiced in Boston, specializing in genito-urinary medicine and…
Ein hubscher Tractat von dem Ursprung des Bösen Franzos
This small pamphlet on syphilis [A Fine Treatise on the Origin of the French Evil] was enormously popular, appearing in four different editions in Latin and German in the last years of the fifteenth century. The pamphlet was printed during the course…
"A manual of military surgery; or, hints on the emergencies of field, camp and hospital practice."
S. D. Gross, professor of surgery at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, was one of the country's foremost operative surgeons. He designed this brief textbook on field surgery for emergencies: portable, easy of reference, always at hand.…
Lectures on the Duties and Qualifications of a Physician
Based on the lectures of Dr. John Gregory at the University of Edinburgh, this manual on the conduct of a physician was published several times, both in England and America. A revised edition was produced by Gregory's son, James, who was also a…
Anatomy : descriptive and surgical
With dissections by Henry Gray, lecturer on anatomy, and H. V. Carter, demonstrator of anatomy at Saint George's Hospital, London, Gray's Anatomy quickly became a standard text for medical students. It first appeared in the U.S. in 1859 and became…
The General State of Medical and Chirurgical Practice, Ancient and Modern, Exhibited
More of an extended advertisement than a history of medicine, James Graham's The General State of Medical and Chirurgical Practice details his quack regimens of "diet, aetherial and medico-electrical baths, and simple medicines" and includes numerous…
The Kallikak family : a study in the heredity of feeble-mindedness
Henry Herbert Goddard’s study, The Kallikak family, tracks 480 descendants of Martin Kallikak, known as the “Old Horror,” the illegitimate son of a feeble-minded girl. Among the descendants were alcoholics, prostitutes, epileptics,…
Autograph letter signed : Baton Rouge, La., to [John Rogers, Roxbury, Mass.,?].
Alfred R. Glover's body was brought back to Massachusetts and buried in Forest Hills Cemetery. His wife, Mary Louisa Bodge Glover, died on September 10, 1864, of phthisis, though according to Henry A. Willis, historian of the 53rd Regiment, she, it…
The herball, or generall historie of plantes
Herbals are the original foundation for botanical medicine. The somewhat erratic English botanist John Gerard here provides descriptions of over 1,500 plants, accompanied by detailed engravings, and then outlines the "vertues" or medicinal uses of…
Contraceptive methods and appliances
This product catalog from a London-based firm of chemists advertises an array of mail-order birth control methods and devices, including sponges, pessaries, condoms, and diaphragms, as well as printed literature on contraception and marriage.
Traite d'Accouchemens de Maladies des Femmes
A fine specimen of the Boston Medical Library's bookplate is affixed to the cover of this set of C. M. Gardien's text on gynecology and pediatrics. The four volumes were never rebound, and the spine bears a label with the number 385—one of the only…
Life History Album
Intended to chart the medical history of an individual from birth until the age of 75, the Life history album, edited by Francis Galton, allows for notes on the genealogy, life, development, marriage, children, height and weight observations,…
Sir Francis Galton
Photograph of Sir Francis Galton from his book Memories of my life. Found on the plate facing page 244.
Memories of My Life
At the conclusion of this autobiographical account, Galton considers the goal of his work on eugenics and its contrast to Darwinian natural selection: “Man is gifted with pity and other kindly feelings; he has also the power of preventing many…
Men of Science
Francis Galton, influenced by the work of Charles Darwin, came to believe that, following research into the biographies and genealogies of 400 famous individuals—judges, statesmen, poets, painters, scientists and athletes—genius was…
Hereditary genius : an inquiry into its laws and consequences
Francis Galton, influenced by the work of Charles Darwin, came to believe that, following research into the biographies and genealogies of 400 famous individuals—judges, statesmen, poets, painters, scientists and athletes—genius was…
Galileo and Bruegel from Anatomie et Physiologie du Système Nerveux
Anatomie et Physiologie du Système Nerveux is the seminal work in which Gall discusses the location of the original twenty-seven cerebral faculties and the functions of each. The first two volumes, concerning the anatomical structure of the…
The Influence of the Brain on the Form of the Head
This English translation of Franz Joseph Gall’s Sur les Fonctions du Cerveau was one of the Boston Phrenological Society’s first publication projects. In this passage, Gall describes how he isolated the faculties of attachment and…
The History of Physick from the Time of Galen to the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century
Physician John Freind planned this extensive early work on medical history—the first in the English language—while imprisoned for treason in the Tower of London. The volume appears to have been presented to the first Boston Medical…
Lorenzo Niles Fowler
This short guide to phrenology by Lorenzo Niles Fowler and his daughter, defines the various faculties and concludes with an essay describing the procedure for finding certain organs on the surface of the skull. "Let us take, then, for our starting…
Phrenological Reading of G. H. Clark
Lorenzo Niles Fowler compiled this notebook of phrenological readings of individuals encountered during his travels through upstate New York, western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky in 1834 and 1835. There are a number of examinations of…
Lectures in the Practice of Physic
While the trustees of the Boston Medical Library concentrated on acquiring current medical literature, some anomalies crept in. This volume of student notes in a scribe's hand from the lectures of English physician George Fordyce appears to be the…
Cases treated according to homœopathic principles
The second homeopathic practitioner in Massachusetts and the first to practice in Boston, Dr. Josiah Foster Flagg became convinced of the efficacy of homeopathy after obtaining relief from chronic dyspepsia. This case book, listing patients treated…
Medicina of Jean Fernel
Although the bulk of the Boston Medical Library's holdings were current books and periodicals, the collection did include a handful of older works and classics, and the Trustees advocated the formation of a historical collection. This text by French…
Domestic homœopathy
This popular homeopathic text for use in the home went through five editions in both London and Boston, where it was printed by Otis Clapp. Inside, there is information on obtaining medicine from "James Epps, Homœopathic Chemist," almost…
Examination Papers in Medicine : First, Second and Third Year
Following reform, rigorous medical examinations at the end of each year became a requirement for Harvard students. These are the exam questions posed by Dr. John P. Reynolds to third-year students in obstetrics during the 1877-1878 academic…
Frozen sections of a child
Thomas Dwight, Instructor in Topographical Anatomy and Histology, made these sections of a three-year-old child for use in his lectures at the Medical School in 1880-1881 and were some of the first frozen sections in use in this country. The plates…
Histoire de la chirurgie depuis son origine jusqu'a nos jours
A member of the l'Académie royale de Chirurgie, Franҫois Dujardin reviewed Chinese and Japanese medicine in his survey of the history of surgery. He reproduced several of the plates from Willem ten Rhijne's treatise on acupuncture and, in…
Fifth generation of the Juke Family
One of the first and most influential of the eugenic studies of a pseudonymous family, Richard L. Dugdale’s The Jukes traces the origins of imprisoned members of the same family back to the colonial period to examine inherited and environmental…
A Dissertation on Artificial Teeth
Nicolas Dubois de Chémant began to issue this text—part scientific tract, part advertisement—in France in 1788, advocating dentures which were more durable and produced no offensive odors. His work passed through five subsequent…
L'anatomie de l’homme, suivant la circulation du sang, et les nouvelles decouvertes...
While Harvard Medical School received the Warren Library as a bequest of Dr. John Warren (1874-1928), the Boston Medical Library received an endowment of $5000 by his will to establish a fund to acquire rare medical books, particularly works of…
Heredity in relation to eugenics
Harvard graduate, Charles Benedict Davenport, was one of the leaders of the American eugenics movement. In 1904, he became the director of the Carnegie Institution’s Station for Experimental Evolution at Cold Spring Harbor, on Long Island, and…
Chirurgie francoise
Principally a translation of the De chirurgia of Paul of Aegina, the Chirurgie françoise of Jacques Dalechamps incorporates information from other Classical writers as well as from Ambroise Paré, the foremost contemporary authority on…
The Anatomy of the Absorbing Vessels of the Human Body
William Cruickshank's study of the lymphatic system was presented to the Boston Medical Library by its first librarian, Dr. John Fleet (1766-1813)
Autograph letter signed : Washington, D.C., to [Abby Ann Newbold Cox, New York, N.Y.?]
Former professor of surgery at the New-York Medical College, Abraham L. Cox resigned his New York practice at the opening of the war and became the Surgeon-in-Chief, 1st Division, 20th Corps, of the Army of the Cumberland. "Hastened by the labor and…
Illustration of the parts of the body as a house
Polish physician Tobias ben Moses Cohn knew nine languages and was court physician to five sultans in Adrianople. In 1724, he moved to Jerusalem. The Ma’aseh Tobiyyah [“Works of Tobias”] is an encyclopedia of theology, botany,…
Catalogue of homoeopathic books
A catalogue of homeopathic books and other items for sale by Otis Clapp.
A treatise on acupuncturation
Churchill's Treatise is the first English monograph devoted to the subject of acupuncture; it describes four cases for which the therapy provided relief of pain. In 1828, James Morss Churchill published a companion work, describing the efficacy of…
De medicina
One of the first medical books ever printed, the De medicina is a compilation of knowledge of diet, pharmacy, and surgery from the time of Imperial Rome, circa 30 A.D. In the Renaissance, Celsus' elegant style earned him the title of Cicero…
Sarah H. Furber
In 1848, after millworker Sarah H. Furber died following an abortion, physician John McNab (1783-1878) brought her body to Boston and offered to sell it to Holmes as a subject for dissection at the Medical School. The offer was refused, but Holmes…
Das Buch der Cirurgia
Brunschwig's Book of Surgery was intended to be a manual of general practice for the independent surgeon and is the first printed German text on this subject. The Cirurgia contains information on the treatment of wounds, dislocations, fractures, and…
The complete herbalist, or the people their own physicians by the use of nature's remedies
In addition to publishing this popular botanic medical text, O. Phelps Brown made and marketed proprietary medicines, such as the "Magic Assimilant" (boneset, chamomile blossoms, smartweed, vervain, and whiskey) for fits and indigestion. He also…
Twenty-first Annual Report of the Boston Medical Library
Edwin H. Brigham (1840-1926), the assistant librarian of the second Boston Medical Library, here announces the initial deposit of the medical books of the Athenaeum. Additions deposits, large and small, were made over the next twenty years, with…
The past, present and future treatment of homœopathy
H. I. Bowditch was the sole dissenting voice in the vote to expel homeopaths from the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1871. "By the sympathies excited among the laity, by our worse than foolish persecutions, we have built up their sectarian schools…
Composite Portraits
An arrangement of composite portraits by Henry Pickering Bowditch (1840-1911) in the publication from the second International Exhibition of Eugenics in 1921. While the composite photographs on display here as well as others in the collections of the…
Minute book
During the summer of 1842, the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, a scientific organization of which Holmes and many of his friends from his European sojourn were members, began to consider the question of puerperal fever. Following reports of…
A Catalogue of Phrenological Specimens Belonging to the Boston Phrenological Society
Formed after the death of Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, the Boston Phrenological Society assembled a large collection of skulls, masks, and casts of famous and infamous heads to illustrate the various phrenological faculties.
Catalogue of Books in the Boston Medical Library and the Rules and Regulations concerning the Same (1823)
The last printed version of a Boston Medical Library catalogue appeared in 1823 and described nearly 800 titles. The rules and regulations on circulation and fines differ considerably from the previous edition and probably reflect changes consequent…
Catalogue of Boston Medical Library Arranged in Numerical Order
One of the few surviving records of the Boston Medical Library, this manuscript catalogue, unlike the printed versions, divides the collection by size—into folios, quartos, octavos, and duodecimos—with each title receiving a shelf mark…
Catalogue of Books in the Boston Medical Library; and the Rules and Regulations concerning the Same (1816)
In 1819, the Boston Medical Library and the Library of the Massachusetts Medical College were unified and the collection made available to Harvard's medical students. This copy of the 1816 Catalogue belonged to a medical student, probably John Orne…
Catalogue of Books in the Boston Medical Library and the Rules and Regulations concerning the Same (1810)
After the printing of the 1810 edition of the Library's Catalogue, this interleaved copy was used to record subsequent acquisitions. The growth of the collection was so rapid, with over 350 new acquisitions, that another edition of the catalogue was…
Report from the Trustees on the state of the Library
The 1808 Catalogue includes a report from the Trustees on the state of the Library, providing the clearest statement of their intentions for the collection and its usefulness. As a result of the collection's rapid increase and acquisition of current…
Catalogue of Books in the Boston Medical Library (1807)
With nearly 150 titles, this second catalogue of the Library from 1807 attests to its rapid growth and includes a list of over fifty titles on order. The holdings include works on phrenology, botanic medicine, and a number of titles concerning…
An Abstract of the Rules of the Boston Medical Library
These stern regulations for the ordering of the Library were in place soon after its formation. The complete catalogue indicates that of the 29 titles, nearly one-third were current periodicals, attesting to the Trustees' intention to make the…
Proprietor's Share Certificate for John Collins Warren
Only one example of the certificate of a Boston Medical Library Proprietor exists. The term "social library" indicates that members (the "socii") paid for a share allowing access and privileges.
Dedication of the new building and hall of the Boston Medical Library Association
Following the formation of the Boston Medical Library in 1875, Holmes agreed to be the Association’s first president. He delivered the dedicatory address at the opening of the library’s new building at 19 Boylston Place in 1878 and here…