Medical Marvels: Treasures from the Health Sciences Library. Online exhibition

Special Collections, University of Otago, Dunedin; Christy Ballard, Richard German, Terence Doyle, et al.

11th December, 2018

In 1929, the historical collection of the University of Otago’s Health Sciences (formerly Medical) Library was established with the donation of the famed Monro Collection. The over 450 volumes were owned by Alexander Monro, father (primus), son (secundus), and grandson (tertius), who were successively Professors of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh, 1720-1846.

Wonderful though the Monro Collection is, it comprises but a fraction of the total Health Sciences Library’s Historical Collections, some 100,000 plus volumes. These include 18th, 19th, and 20th century books and manuscripts, as well as the unique Preventive Medicine Dissertations. This exhibition, Medical Marvels, highlights treasures from this Historical Collection, from pharmacy and phrenology, to dentistry and disease. Of particular note is the anatomical flap book by Johann Remmelin, printed in Holland in 1667; a second edition of Andreas Vesalius’s The Fabric of the Body, printed in 1555; and Bernhard Albinus’s Tables of the Skeleton and Muscles of the Human Body, printed in 1746.

Other noteworthy items include works by medicos Edward Jenner, John Hunter, Francis Glisson, Thomas Willis, and William Smellie. For those interested in the history of medicine, the exhibition is a feast. This exhibition reflects scholarly engagement. Many of the books have been chosen by University of Otago academic staff, students, and librarians, who have used the books for their own research. We are particularly indebted to Professor Terence Doyle, Department of Medicine, and Professor Barbara Brookes, History Department. The first is an avid user of the historical collection; the second highlighted the importance of the Preventive Medicine dissertations.

Historical Collections, Health Sciences Library, University of Otago