Daniel Le Clerc (1652-1728). Histoire de la médecine. Nouvelle ed. Amsterdam: Aux depens de la Compagnie, 1723. Swiss physician, Daniel Le Clerc was born at Geneva and studied medicine at Montpellier and Paris. He received the M.D. degree at Valencia in 1670 and returned to Geneva to enter private practice. Although successful as a physician,Continue reading “Notes from the Rare Book Room “Histoire de medicine””
Author Archives: Donna Hirst
Not Just Another Pretty Face
Not Just Another Pretty Face Hardin Library’s newest exhibit traces the history of the dubious attempts to divine personality characteristics by analyzing the size, shape, structure, and composition of the human head. It was Aristotle who coined the term, “physiognomy” to support his own writings and inclinations on the subject. Since that time the notionContinue reading “Not Just Another Pretty Face”
Notes from the Rare Book Room “Wrap up the Sword and Call me in the Morning”
But she has taen the broken lance, And washed it from the clotted gore, And salved the splinter o’er and o’er. —Sir Walter Scott: Lay of the Last Minstrel—1805 The notion that wounds can be healed from a distance dates back hundreds, perhaps thousands of years and is retained in some folk remedies today. However,Continue reading “Notes from the Rare Book Room “Wrap up the Sword and Call me in the Morning””
Notes from the Rare Book Room: The Great Herbal of Leonhart Fuchs
In the sixteenth century the same spirit which inspired Vesalius and others in the field of anatomy served also as the inspiration for the study of flora from actual specimens, culminating in what is certainly the most celebrated and probably the most beautiful herbal ever published, Fuchs’ De historia stirpium commentarii Basel, 1542. Leonhart FuchsContinue reading “Notes from the Rare Book Room: The Great Herbal of Leonhart Fuchs”
Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room: Making the Best of a Bad Situation
William Beaumont (1785-1853). Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion, Plattsburgh, 1833. When U.S. Army Surgeon William Beaumont saw the gaping hole in Alex St. Martin’s side, he had every reason to believe the wound was fatal. The 28 year old Canadian voyager was accidentally shot in the stomach byContinue reading “Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room: Making the Best of a Bad Situation”
Rare Book Room Open House to Feature Early Works on Childbirth
The John Martin Rare Book Room will hold its annual open house on Thursday, May 14 from 4:30 to 7:30. The exhibit, “De Partu Hominis; Six Centuries of Obstetrics,” will feature rare books on childbirth from the 15th through the 20th centuries. The event is open to the public. The open house will allow visitorsContinue reading “Rare Book Room Open House to Feature Early Works on Childbirth”
Opening Doors Exhibit Celebrates Achievements of African American Surgeons
The Hardin Library is hosting the traveling exhibition “Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Surgeons” through the end of next week (may 15th). The exhibit celebrates the achievements of these pioneers in medicine by highlighting four contemporary pioneer African American surgeons and educators who exemplify excellence in their fields and believe in continuing the journey ofContinue reading “Opening Doors Exhibit Celebrates Achievements of African American Surgeons”
Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health
The Hardin Library is hosting The National Library of Medicine’s traveling exhibition, “Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health” through April 21. The exhibition earned a best exhibit blue ribbon at the American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting which featured 550 booths at its 2008 expo. The colorful display highlights the revolution taking place inContinue reading “Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health”
Two New Exhibits at Hardin: Care of Lincoln and Care of Books
Two new exhibits on two very different subjects have been installed near the Hardin Library main entrance. “His Wound is Mortal – Trauma Care, April 14, 1865” offers a look at the medical measure taken after the shooting of Abraham Lincoln, including excerpts from first-hand reports of the assassination and its aftermath. The exhibit alsoContinue reading “Two New Exhibits at Hardin: Care of Lincoln and Care of Books”
Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room — Long Before Google
GREGOR REISCH (ca. 1467-1525). Margarita philosophica. 2nd ed., 1504]. Long before there was Google and Britannica, there was Margarita philosophica, which might be called the first modern encyclopedia. Its twelve divisions cover the trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric), the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy), and the natural and moral sciences. Of particular fascination are theContinue reading “Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room — Long Before Google”