Welcome to the Medical Historical Library

Meet our first Simbonis Intern!

Emma Brennan-Wydra

We are delighted to share a report on the work of our first Simbonis intern, Emma Brennan-Wydra, who joined the staff in the Medical Historical Library at the end of May 2018.  Emma offered the following glimpses into her life and experiences as our intern.

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Who will blink first? Today we present a stare down between opposing flaps of an anatomical lift-the-flap illustration in the recently acquired domestic medicine manual, Livre d’or de la santé : méthode nouvelle, complète et pratique de la médecine naturelle et de l'hygiène priveé… (1900). Happy #flapbookfriday! #anatomy #flapbook #specialcollections #librariesofinstagram #libraries #medical #specialcollections #flapanatomy #flapbooks #anatomy #head #histmed #medhist #anatomicalillustration #rarebooks #moveablebook #anatomicalart Ever wondered if you have an honest face? Or if you are an unreliable husband? Are you a thinker or a looker? Answers to these questions and many more are illustrated in the title Vaught’s practical character reader (1902). Combining elements of phrenology (mapping personality traits to the skull/brain) and physiognomy (mapping personality traits to the face), author Louis Allen Vaught’s work is entertaining and accessible, though hardly considered scientific by today’s standards. #phrenology #physiognomy #face #head #skull #personality #librariesofinstagram #medhist #histmed #historyofmedicine #historyofneuroscience A two-headed Siamese twin and a fanciful “elephant man” by artist Jost Amman grace the pages of De conceptu et generatione hominis (1587) by Swiss obstetrician Jakob Rüff (1500-1558). This title was pulled for the history of science and medicine class Sex, Life, and Generation, taught by Ivano Del Prete. #jakobruff #jostamman #obstetrics #sex #life #generation #woodcut #histmed #medhist #librariesofinstagram #rarebooks #elephantman #woodcutwednesday A marginalia packed page from a book recently brought out for class. Professor Richard Rose’s Art of the Printed Word covers the historical development of printing and explores connections between content and typographic form, and word/image relationships. This 1518 edition of Spiegel der Artzny (Mirror of Medicine) is by Lorenz Fries (ca.1490-1531) and the woodcuts in the text are attributed to Hans Wächtlin. #eye #eyes #renaissance #woodcutwednesday #woodcut #manuscript #artofthebook #marginalia #medhist #histmed #typography #librariesofinstagram #rarebooks