Looking through our recent uploads, this cover caught my eye: It’s from an anonymous “synopsis” of the papers given at a May 1886 meeting of the Society of Medical Jurisprudence and State Medicine (New York State) which was held at the Academy of Medicine (now a MHL partner!) This copy of the pamphlet was given out with the “compliments of Wm M. McLaury, M.D.,” listed as one of the trustees of the Society. Continue reading
We’ve got 269,122 items in the MHL and the number is growing every day! Here are some of our latest additions: William Russell Smith’s 1881 Assassination and insanity : Guiteau’s case examined and compared with analogous cases from the earlier to the present times J. Heber Smith’s 1896 The desirability of disposing of infected bodies by cremation : a paper read before the Boston Homoeopathic Medical Society, Jan. 2, 1896 J. Marion Sims’s 1868 The… Continue reading
~From the College of Physicians of Philadelphia blog, Fugitive Leaves and Beth Lander, College Librarian. On September 7, 1918, 300 sailors arrived in Philadelphia from Boston, where, two weeks earlier, soldiers and sailors began to be hospitalized with a disease characterized as pneumonia, meningitis, or influenza. The sailors were stationed at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. On September 11, 19 sailors reported to sickbay with symptoms of “influenza.” By September 15, more than 600 servicemen required hospitalization.… Continue reading
From Traductions tirées de l’ouvrage de Lambert : A description of the Genus Cinchona ; A description of the Genus Cinchona ; An illustration of the Genus Cinchona ; Notizie sulla nuova China di Pitayo ; Notices sur le nouveau quina de Pitayo (1797-1838). Continue reading
Many of us know one of the most popular methods of taking quinine was in a drink — if you watched Jewel in the Crown in the 1980s, you may even specify the drink as a gin and tonic. The liquor — of whatever kind — helped to cover the bitterness of the quinine, thus making a vital medicament palatable. Robert Robertson took it a step further and imagined quinine-laced baked goods. The Walcheren campaign (1809)… Continue reading
It’s actually quite a lovely day here in Boston: sunny and bright but this poem should bring on some Halloween cheer anyway! Continue reading
Forgot to stock in candy for Halloween? Or got snacking a little early and need to fill in the gaps? We have candy recipes for you! You just need some sugar, water, perhaps a few cooking implements, some flavors — and if you really get on a roll, maybe a little scaffolding! Learn the basics from The confectioner (1880). And then work up something special from The Italian confectioner (1881): perhaps add in some flowers… Continue reading
Have you been following the #PageFrights tag on Twitter? Here are a few of our favorites: We’re counting down to #Halloween 🎃 with 31 days of books from OUr #SpecialCollections: Victor Frankenstein views his creation in 1833 American edition of Mary Shelley’s #Frankenstein, held in Nichols Collection #pagefrights #Frankenstein200 #MonsterMonday pic.twitter.com/YLHKdR8Zvn — OUHOS Collections (@OUHOSCollection) October 22, 2018 Crouching mice, rising….cat bat? This winged feline was the project of 17th century polymath, author and Jesuit Athanasius… Continue reading
Wondering how to make your Halloween party really memorable this year? Try making Pepper’s ghost! You can find detailed instructions in John H. Pepper’s The true history of the ghost (1890): Continue reading
~This post courtesy Polina Ilieva, Head of Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco. Wednesday, October 10, 12 – 1:15 pm Parnassus Library, 5th Floor, Lange Room Join UCSF Archives & Special Collections as we explore the little-known history of African American women physicians’ careers in medicine from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. Through an extensive survey of the careers of all known African American women who practiced medicine in this period, a… Continue reading
