treasures-rare-book-room – Page 5

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: White’s Stereoscope

Stereoscopy is a technique that creates the illusion of a 3D image. It is based on a simple principle: when viewing two nearly identical images side by side through prismatic lenses, the eyes blend the two views into one, which is then perceived in three dimensions. Stereoscopic images became widely popular with photography from about 1850 to 1920. These images were a form of entertainment, and even today this technique is used to enhance the teaching power of photography. Falk Library owns several newer anatomy and pathology atlases with stereoscopic illustrations that include their own viewers: Hirsch’s Neuroanatomy (1999) with 3D glasses; Schuknecht’s Stereoscopic Atlas of Mastoidotympanoplastic Surgery (1966) with a folded compact stereo viewer; Bassett’s A Stereoscopic Atlas of Human Anatomy (1965); and Gass’s Stereoscopic Atlas of Macular Diseases (1987, 1997) with a standard reel view-master.

The early stereoscopes and viewers are collectibles. Before the invention of photography, the first stereoscope for viewing drawings was introduced in 1833 by Charles Wheatstone. Later, Oliver Wendell Holmes designed the first handheld viewer which was produced and improved by Joseph Bates.

Over the years many other inventors perfected stereoscopes. Hawley C. White was one of them. His company was the largest producer of stereoscopes in the world. He won a prestigious prize at the 1900 International Exhibition in Paris. Many of his 20th century viewers can be identified by the emblem referencing this event. The stereoscope in our collection has his Award Medal depicted in the center of the hood along with the H.C. White name. One of the three card holders has a clasp designed by Truman W. Ingersoll in 1904, thus making the stereoscope traceable to ca.1905. The other two card holders were added later and do not belong to the original viewer. This stereoscope works well with these stereoscopic atlases owned by Falk Library: Cunningham’s Stereoscopic Studies of Anatomy for the Internist (1900); Enderlen and Gasser’s Stereoskopbilder zur Lehre von den Hernien (1906), as described in the February 2012 HSLS Update article, “Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Photography and Medical Books, Part 3”; Kelly’s Dr. J. A. Bodine’s Operation for Inguinal Hernia (1909); Cunningham’s Stereoscopic Studies of Anatomy (ca. 1909); and Jones’s Equilibrium and Vertigo (1918).

These materials can be viewed in the Rare Book Room by appointment.

~ Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: The Work That Laid the Foundation for Modern Anatomical Pathology

Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682-1771) was an Italian anatomist and professor of practical medicine at University of Padua. His reputation as an accurate anatomist was established early. He published his first book on anatomy when he was only 19 years old. His seminal work, De sedibus et causis morborum per anatomen indagatis (Seats and Causes of Disease Investigated by Means of Anatomy), was published in Venice in 1761, when he was almost 80 years old. The work included his lifelong experience and discoveries, and earned him the title “father of anatomical pathology.”

The publication of De sedibus ended the theory of humors developed by Hippocrates and Galen, which in Morgagni’s time identified the causes of disease as the disequilibrium between the four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow, and black bile). It was the author who introduced the concept that diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease must be based on an exact understanding of the pathologic changes in the anatomic structures. Morgagni was the first to link the postmortem discoveries with the clinical findings. His work is a systematic collection of pathological cases. It includes those reported in existing literature and those gathered and described from the autopsies he witnessed or performed. All are presented as a logical correlation between the symptoms and anatomical findings.

Falk Library has the second edition of this monumental work (Padua 1765), as well as the first English translation published in London in 1769. The Latin edition was acquired for the collection in 1970. It is a beautifully preserved folio pictured above. The book has fine woodcut head and tailpieces in each volume and includes an engraved portrait of Morgagni by Jean Renard. It can be viewed in the Rare Book Room by appointment.

~ Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Anatomy as Art

There is probably no other medical discipline so tightly tied to art as anatomy. The link between the two disciplines is bilateral. Ancient sculptor Myron applied his knowledge of anatomy to render the perfect movement in his sculpture, Discobolus. And without artists would we have the incredible illustrations that aid in the study of anatomy? Falk Library has a superb collection of old anatomical atlases. With the help of these historical books, it is easy to study the relationship between the artist and the anatomist. From the gracefully posed skeleton in the Vesalius’s De Humani Corporis (1543) and whimsical backgrounds in Albinus’s Tabulae Anatomicae (1747) to Gautier Dagoty’s color mezzotint in Myologie Complete (1746) and anatomical dioramas in Ruysch’s Opera Omnia (1721), the examples from our collection can prove that the dividing line between the two disciplines is sometimes blurred. When artist and anatomist are one, the old medical books truly shine.

Frederik Ruysch (1638-1731), “the artist of death,” was a Dutch botanist and anatomist known for perfecting the methods of anatomical preservation of body parts used in teaching surgeons and midwives. He is believed to be the first to use arterial embalming. His secret was to inject liquid wax into blood vessels. Over the years, he perfected his liquor balsamicum to preserve the lifelike color, elasticity, and structures of the preparations which would be otherwise invisible. To offset the macabre captured in the glass jars, he artistically arranged the specimens and elaborately decorated the jar tops. The exhibit he created became a major attraction. The cabinets filled three rooms and each of them was turned into a work of art. The frontispiece illustration from his Opera Omnia (1721) gives an idea of how his museum might have looked.

The wet specimens in the jars, sold to Tsar Peter the Great, are still available in a museum in St. Petersburg.¹ His amazing dioramas did not survive, and are known today only from the printed works. The four volume set of his Opera Omnia can be viewed in the Falk Library Rare Book Room by appointment.

1. Morbid Anatomy: Surveying the Interstices of Art and Medicine, Death and Culture, http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2010/01/announcing-new-virtual-museum-dedicated.html.

~Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Lettre de Figaro au comte Almaviva sur le magnétisme animal—Paris, 1784

Animal magnetism is a healing system based on the belief that the existence of a universal magnetic fluid is central to the restoration and maintenance of health. The basic principles were articulated in Franz Anton Mesmer’s Mémoire sur la découverte du magnétisme animal, published in 1779. Mesmer was not successful in gaining support from the medical establishment in Vienna, so he relocated to Paris where he operated two treatment clinics.

The medical faculty of Paris was alarmed at the popularity of Mesmer’s clinics. Two royal commissions were formed to investigate animal magnetism. Both produced unfavorable reports. These statements initiated a wave of tracts supporting or objecting to their conclusions. Some of those works participating in the heated discussion are currently on display in Falk Library. Among these books, there is an interesting and rare pamphlet, Lettre de Figaro au comte Almaviva sur le magnétisme animal (1784). The Spanish references from the title (Figaro’s letter to Count Almaviva…) are fictional. It was written by a physician from Lyon—Brack, who was known only by his last name. His Lettre was very popular and was issued several times that year.

Brack2 The tract was written to serve in the campaign against animal magnetism. It was focused on a popular topic, short lived, and tossed away when the interest in animal magnetism faded. Consequently, tracts are quite scarce. There are several copies of the second edition in the United States and France, but finding a first edition copy is very rare. Two identified copies, one in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and one in the University of Oklahoma are of the same variety. A digital version is available from the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The copy in Falk Library is different. The text is the same, but the publisher was forced to make changes to the layout of the title page and the remaining text to fit the new duodecimo format. The final bound copy is only 10.5 x 16.5 cm and the main text occupied 57 pages (more than 38 pages in the BnF copy). The paper has clear watermarks easy to examine with a bare eye. Falk Library’s copy is also identified with a stamp of the previous owner. This unique version is currently on display in the Falk Library lobby.

~ Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Tokens from the 17th Century

Numismatists and hobbyists are familiar with historical tokens (coin-like objects with quasi monetary value, issued by a private group or individual). Some tokens served as emergency “money” during the small-change shortage (Civil War tokens), entrance tickets (Roman spintriae), or store cards (merchant tokens), while others commemorated an event, anniversary, place or person (communion tokens).

The “Beard Tax” Token

Tokens are fun to collect and sometimes have fascinating histories. For example, when Tsar Peter the Great wanted to westernize Russian nobility in the 17th century, he imposed on his subjects a prohibition against wearing beards. He found that public officials were willing to part with their beards for a small reward. Seeing the opportunity, Peter enacted a law to force peasants to shave too, but at the same time he gave everyone a way out: you could pay a progressive tax and keep your beard. In return, the payer was given a copper token with the image of a beard and the Russian words for “tax paid.”

Dutch Physician’s Token

Falk Library has an interesting token in its special collections. It was issued by the Hortus Medicus, the botanic gardens of the University of Amsterdam, founded in 1682 by a decree of the Amsterdam City Council. The gardens were planted in 1683. It is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. Hortus Medicus was created to serve as an herb garden for doctors and apothecaries, and to heal the city after the bubonic plague. The first tokens, that granted admission to the garden for physicians, surgeons, and chemists, were sold in 1684. The specimen in our collection is from the first series. It has a clearly visible issue date and the name Hortus Medicus. Under the vase of flowers there is a place to incuse the name of the pass holder (initials H.V.B.). The reverse has an image of a skeleton with a scythe, resting its hand on an hourglass which is positioned on a tomb. The token is made of brass and measures 44 mm (1.25 inches) in diameter.

Click on the image below to rotate the token.

The Dutch physician’s token can be viewed in the Rare Book Room by appointment.

~ Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: The Oldest Book in the Library

The oldest book in any of the HSLS collections is Expositio in primam fen quarti Canonis Avicennae De febribus, Giovanni Arcolani‘s commentary on fevers in the first fen [section] of book four of Avicenna’s Canon. It was printed in Venice in 1496 by Bonetus Locatellus, one of the most prominent Venetian publishers, whose monogram appears on the last page. The book contains many examples of marginalia, hand written notes by scholars studying Arcolani’s text, and includes drawings of a small hand pointing to important passages. It also has fine wooden capitals [decorated initial letters]. The book was rebound on Gregorian chant parchment. When it was rebound, the pages were cut in the process so there is a minimal loss of marginalia in the HSLS copy.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Girolamo Fracastoro’s Poem on Syphilis

Syphilis ou le mal vénérien: Poeme Latin de Jerome Fracastor avec la traduction en François & des notes [Syphilis, or the venereal disease: the Latin poem of Girolamo Fracastoro with French translation & notes]. Paris, 1753

Girolamo Fracastoro (1478-1553) was a Venetian nobleman educated at Padua University. Although medicine was his true passion, he was also a poet, humanist, and scientist; and his many interests included astronomy, mathematics, physics, botany, geology, and geography. He counted Copernicus, the Renaissance mathematician and astronomer, among his friends.

As a physician, Fracastoro is considered one of the founding fathers of modern medicine. He discovered that microorganisms were able to transmit infection and proposed a scientific hypothesis on tiny particles or “spores” 300 years before the empirical formulation of germ theory was developed by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch.
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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Horace Wells’ Letters

Horace Wells (1815-1848) was an American dentist who pioneered the use of nitrous oxide in tooth extractions. He was posthumously honored as the discoverer of modern anesthesia by the American Dental Association in 1864 and by the American Medical Association in 1870.

There was no greater promoter of Wells’ contribution than his main biographer, W. Harry Archer (1905-1980)—alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh, lecturer in the School of Dentistry, and later the head of the department of oral surgery of his Alma Mater. During his years at Pitt, with the support of Dean H. Edmund Friesell, Archer helped to build an outstanding collection on the discovery of anesthesia that primarily focused on Horace Wells. The collection included letters, instruments for delivering anesthesia, portraits, books, journals, and pamphlets. This collection of “Wellsiana” was the most complete in the country at that time, and the Wells family letters were its highlight. Archer obtained the letters for the collection from Mrs. Arthur Cole and from Miss Wales, relatives of Horace Wells.

During the reorganization of the dental school library in the 1970s, the collection’s anesthetic armamentarium and miniature portraits were donated by Archer to The Smithsonian.

The book I Awaken to Glory, in Falk Library’s Historical Collection, mistakenly spread the message that the whereabouts of the original letters collected by W. Harry Archer were unknown.¹

However, these Wells family letters brought to Pittsburgh by Archer never left the University. Today, they are housed in the Rare Books and Special Collections of Falk Library, where they are properly cared for and stored in a climate controlled room. The letters can be viewed in our Rare Book Room by appointment. A finding aid is available.

1. Leonard F. Menczer and Richard J. Wolfe, eds. I Awaken to Glory: Essays Celebrating the Sesquicentennial of the Discovery of Anesthesia by Horace Wells, December 11, 1844–December 11, 1994 (Boston, Mass.: Boston Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, in association with the Historical Museum of Medicine and Dentistry, Hartford, Conn., 1994).

~ Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Late 19th Century Amputation Surgical Set

On March 27, 1891, Dr. Elmer E. Wible (b. 1867) graduated with honors from the Medical Department of the University of Pittsburgh and was awarded a case of general amputating instruments as a surgical prize. Wible lived and worked in the Pittsburgh area and was associated with West Penn, Homestead, and Columbia hospitals, where he worked as a surgeon and later as an oculist. In 1922, he attended an International Congress in Ophthalmology in Washington, D.C. He also served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. But beyond this small amount of information, little has been recorded about his professional life.¹ On June 1, 1942, he donated the instruments and case to his alma mater. It is currently owned by Falk Library.

The antique amputation surgical set (c. 1890) was fabricated by George Tiemann of New York. The wooden case with a key lock is lined with purple velvet. The bottom compartment holds eight surgical knives, one artery forceps, five needles, an elastic bandage, and a tourniquet with an iron chain. Continue reading →

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Medical Adventurer of the 17th Century—Nicola de Blégny

L'art de Guerir les Hernies, 1693 edition — L’art de Guerir les Hernies, 1693 edition

The history of medicine is full of controversial and colorful figures. Nicola de Blégny (1652-1722) certainly fits that description. He was a man of many talents: essayist, historian, physician, and surgeon. His birth date is disputed, although it is known that he was born in Lyon. He started his surgical career as a designer of trusses used in the treatment of hernia, but quickly climbed the social ladder to become physician to Queen Marie Therese (1678) and later to King Louis XIV of France (1682). He was a prolific author and left a number of works. These include monographs on hernia, venereal diseases, health, remedies for fever, and the use of coffee and tea. For some, he was a genius, for others—a quack. Continue reading →

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Bertuccio’s Art of Medicine

Art of Medicine title page Little is known about Nicola Bertuccio (d. 1347), the author of the Compendium sive (ut vulgo inscribitur) Collectorium artis medicae, published in 1537. He was associated with the University of Bologna, a center in medieval Europe for the study of medicine, where dissection began to be practiced around 1300. Following the research of his teacher and predecessor, Mondino de Liuzzi, Bertuccio contributed to the revival of anatomical studies. His teachings attracted Guy de Chauliac, the author of a seminal work in surgery, Inventarium sive Chirurgia Magna, to come to Bologna to study surgical techniques.

Though his life remains undocumented, his work has left a permanent mark on the study of medicine. Bertuccio was an authority in surgery, but in practice he preferred nonsurgical procedures. His most notable writing was a systematic collection of diseases and treatments. For each ailment he discussed etiologic factors, gave the rational and empirical treatment, described the symptoms, and provided his prognosis for recovery. There is one chapter on anatomy which includes a description of the brain.

This work was very influential and remained in demand long after his death. In the 16th century, four editions were published. Even today, it has ignited the interest of researchers and become a prime example of a treatise containing medical precautions for physician conduct.¹

The copy in Falk Library has vellum binding covered with old Latin writing. It was a common practice of the past to reuse old manuscript pages for binding since vellum was expensive.

The exact provenance is not easy to establish, but the copy bears handwritten notes in Latin of an early owner, physician Johann Roland. At some point it belonged to a convent library in Vienna. It was acquired by the University of Pittsburgh Dental School Library in 1929. From there it was transferred to Falk Library.

The book can be viewed in the Rare Book Room by appointment.

1. Žalud, Zdeněk. “Velmi nám pomáhá, že naši mluvě nerozumějí: sugestivní a manipulativní prvky v chování středověkého lékaře” [It is very helpful that they do not understand our language: suggestive and manipulative elements in behavior of medieval physicians]. Kontakt 14, no. 4 (2012), 475-484, http://casopis-zsfju.zsf.jcu.cz/kontakt/administrace/clankyfile/20121214131342225654.pdf.

~ Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Willibald Pirckheimer’s Podagra Laus

Willibald Pirckheimer (1470-1530), a German humanist from Nuremberg, was a friend of Erasmus and Albert Dürer and one of the most acclaimed men of his time. He was educated in Italy, and upon his return was elected to the Nuremberg City Council. Pirckheimer was able to help the city with his legal expertise. His fierce temperament and outspoken criticism, however, did not make him popular among his fellow citizens. Despite many years of service and his patrician background, he never achieved the same admiration in his native city that he enjoyed elsewhere as a gifted and influential spokesman of German humanism. He chose Latin as his language of expression, but initially did not publish very much. It was the breadth of his interests, connections, and views expressed in letters that earned him fame.

One of his later published works was Apologia seu Podagrae laus (Nuremberg 1522), an ironic praise of gout, from which he suffered. In this short witty eulogy to gout, Pirckheimer takes on the role of “woman gout,” in a literary game to settle scores with his enemies.

This 16th century leaflet, housed in the Falk Library Rare Book Room, is only 23 pages long. The text is in perfect condition. Its title page has a beautiful woodcut border. There are no illustrations other than the two woodcut initials at the beginning of the preface and the main text. The book has a contemporary paper binding. It was a common practice for the purchaser of a book to order a binding since early prints were usually published without them. Therefore, the binding tells us more about the owner than the publisher. The book was donated to the library in 1985 as part of the Gerald Rodnan collection.

This book can be viewed in the Rare Book Room by appointment.

~ Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: The Caracalla Medal

In addition to the many exquisite rare books in the Falk Library Rare Book collection, there are a number of valuable non-literary items. As objects, they can sometimes speak to us more strongly than text, since they appeal not only to our intellect but also to our senses. Among the artifacts is the Civil War Post-Mortem Surgical Set, which was described in detail in a December 2010 HSLS Update article. Another interesting collection is the commemorative medals associated with the field of medicine. These medals consist mostly of 19th and 20th century specimens, though there are a few that date as far back as the 15th century.

One medal in the collection commemorates the Roman emperor Caracalla. It was struck in Venice, Italy, in 1466. The design is loosely copied from a coin and is attributed to the Venetian artist, Giovanni Boldù, who was active from 1454-1477. It is a large medal (90 mm in diameter) struck in bronze. The obverse has an image of the Roman emperor Caracalla as a boy done in high relief. The youth’s bust facing left is circled by the name ANTONINVS PIVS AVGVSTVS (Antoninus Pius Augustus). The reverse side of the metal pictures the artist seated naked with his head in his hands; before him there is the Genius of Death, resting on a skull; above him, the inscription IO SON FINE; and below him, the date MCCCCLXVI (1466).

As commissioner of a large public bath house (thermae) in Rome, Caracalla fits the pattern of men accomplished in the field of medicine. The building that housed the bath house was constructed during his reign between 212 and 216 AD. It was heated by the ancient hypocast system of under-floor heating, and supplied with water by the Aqua Marcia Aqueduct. The bath house consisted of cold and hot rooms, a pool, gyms, and two libraries. It was free, open to the public and in use until the 6th century, when the hydraulic installations were destroyed. While in use, it provided a place where Romans could bathe and possibly receive health benefits from the baths. Today the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla are a tourist attraction in Rome.

This medal can be viewed in the Rare Book Room by appointment.

~ Gosia Fort

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Early Chinese Books

Most of the hidden treasures in the Falk Library collection were contributed by donors. One of these generous people was Lieutenant Colonel J.A. Mendelson, a World War I veteran, who was a member of the United States Military Mission to China, and at one time an assistant professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Pittsburgh. During his years in China, Burma, and India, he collected interesting objects related to the cultures of the countries where he served. Many of the swords, daggers, and knives from his collection are housed in the Smithsonian Institute. He also brought home early Chinese medical texts that he gave to Pitt’s School of Medicine’s library during the summers of 1943 and 1944.

These early Chinese books are now housed in Falk Library’s Rare Book Room. The collection includes rare books by Chen Shigong (1617), Dou Hanqing (1717), Li Shizhen (1784), and two 19th century texts by Gao Wenjin (1856) and Chen Huichou (1878) covering the subjects of surgery, blood circulation, blood vessels, Chinese herbal medicine, and acupuncture. One outstanding title is Bencao Gangmu (本草綱目), also known as the Compendium of Materia Medica, written during the Ming Dynasty. This 18th century reprint from the original 1590 edition is regarded as the most complete and comprehensive medical book ever written on the history of traditional Chinese medicine. It lists all of the plants, animals, minerals, and other items that were believed to have medicinal properties. The oldest book in the group, Xin kan Wai ke zheng zong (外科正宗), published in 1617, is a compendium on external diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. According to the Chinese Rare Book Catalog (中國古籍善本書目), there are only four known copies of the book in China. WorldCat, the global catalog of library collections, shows two copies in the United States.

All of the books are illustrated. They are also examples of traditional woodblock printing. This method was developed in China for printing on silk, rather than paper, and better suited for Chinese character set than movable type. The books are thread-bound, a predominant binding format in traditional Chinese books, and are enclosed in a cloth-covered case which is enforced with wooden boards, and closes with loops and pegs.

The books can be viewed in the Rare Book Room by appointment.

We gratefully acknowledge the help of Zhang Haihui, Chinese Studies Librarian at the University Library System’s East Asian Library, for her guidance and assistance in cataloging these rare Chinese books.

~ Gosia Fort and Liping Song