University Libraries

The John Martin Rare Book Room will hold its annual open house on Thursday, May 15 from 4:30 to 7:30.

The exhibit, “’No Small Presumption’–Surgical Works From Six Centuries,” will feature rare books from the earliest days of surgery through the twentieth century. Although chloroform and ether were not widely used before the second half of the 19th century, a surprising number of surgical procedures were employed hundreds and even thousands of years ago, including operations for cataracts, bullet removal, hernias, club foot, and bladder stones. The open house will allow visitors to view and page through the early texts and illustrations used by surgeons for instruction and guidance.

Of special interest are the woodcuts and engravings of the elaborate and sometimes quite modern instruments developed over the centuries for specific tasks, including drills, scalpels, and saws designed with speed and efficiency in mind. Important early works in anesthetics and antisepsis will also be featured.

The exhibit is part of a series of public lectures and presentation sponsored by the University of Iowa History of Medicine Society.

The John Martin Rare Book Room is located on the fourth floor of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences. For additional information, please contact Ed Holtum, Curator at 335-9154.

*This event is open to the public.

Don’t forget to stop by Hardin’s newest exhibit, Simple Medicines, located near the 3rd floor doors of the Hardin Library. The display on herbs and herbal medicinal treatments spotlights the work of French scholar Matthaeus Platearius (d. 1161).

The lustrous images in this exhibit have been copied from a facsimile of a remarkable manuscript published in the last part of the 15th century, Le livre des simples médecines (The book of simple medicines). The original manuscript is housed in the Russian National Library at St. Petersburg [Barcelona: M. Moleiro, 2000].

Beginning around the 11th century, European scholars began translations of ancient Greek works, using as their sources, Arabic translations that were preserved during the Middle Ages by Islamic scholars. One of the most important of these translations (De medicinis simplicibus (“On simple medicines”) was completed in the mid 12th century by Matthaeus Platearius (d. 1161), a physician from Salerno, Italy, an important translation center.

Platearius’ text found its way into numerous manuscripts but none as beautiful as the codex produced for Count Charles of Angoulême and his wife Louise of Savoy. Most of the text is taken from Platearius’ French translation with additional material from later writers. The text includes sections on herbs and flowers, trees, metals & minerals, and animal products. It is followed by a magnificent 116 page atlas depicting “simples” – plants used in treating diseases. The striking artistry was probably the work of Robinet Testard (fl 1475–1523), the French illustrator and illuminator.

Of interest, too, are the written annotations added by two physicians who insert Latin and Greek names for many of the plants and who provide additional commentary.