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The Royal College of Physicians – Part I (Wiley Digital Archives)

Royal College of Physicians Archive

Royal College of Physicians Archive

Great news! Wiley is making the The Royal College of Physicians – Part I (Wiley Digital Archives) available to Jisc members in perpetuity as a gesture of thanks for participating in the Wiley transitional agreement in 2022. History of medicine researchers can now benefit from access to this resource.

The Royal College of Physicians – Part I (Wiley Digital Archives) will be of most interest to those studying history of Western medicine covering the 12th century to 1862. The archive is useful for researchers studying the history of anatomy, folk medicine, herbal medicine, healers and domestic medicine, medical law and policy, medical research (disease/treatment), medical and biological Illustration, and health education during the early modern and parts of the modern period.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) was founded so that physicians could be formally licensed to practise and those who were not qualified could be exposed and punished. There are many archive records defining the RCP’s changing role in setting standards in medical practice. RCP members have always collected manuscripts and papers on a wide range of medical and non-medical topics.

The Royal College of Physicians – Part I includes content from the 12th century to 1862, though some papers are dated later. Most of the collections are from British sources. A notable exception is the (Arthur Stanley) Tritton Oriental Manuscripts collection, which contains early Arabic medical manuscripts.

Important papers relate to William Harvey, Edward Jenner, John Latham, Thomas Lawrence, and other physicians. Papers will typically include notebooks containing medical extracts and observations, prescriptions, lecture notes, admissions tickets, diaries, correspondence, treatises, etc. Collections of 17th and 18th century polymaths may also include history of science material (e.g. John Dee on astronomy or mathematics).

The rest of Part I contains papers relating to the founding and running of the RCP itself and throw light on the history of the professionalisation of the medical profession. There are records relating to college officers & staff, education, examination, finance, events, legal status, estates records, trusts & bequests, membership, professional affairs, Regulation of Clinical Practice and Standards, and the college library.

Also of interest:

History of Medicine Library re-opening!

We are pleased to say that from this week (w/b 3rd May) the History of Medicine Library will be open again on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 2pm-5pm.

We have very limited seating available due to our small size, so booking is essential. To let us know you want to visit the library, please email historyofmedicine@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

We look forward to seeing some of you again at the library!

The History of Medicine Library is closed with immediate effect

Following guidance from the UK Government and Public Health England, The Bodleian Libraries will be closed until further notice. The health, welfare and safety of readers and staff is our number one priority. This policy will also apply to the History of Medicine Library, again until further notice.

Please do check the Bodleian webpage ( https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ ) and Bodleian Twitter ( https://twitter.com/bodleianlibs ) for the latest information.

Though the Bodleian’s scan-and-deliver service will now apply (where possible, and within copyright limits) to open-shelf books, this will not be possible for books held only in the History of Medicine Library, as both Bethan and George will have either to work from home or work at the Central site as appropriate. You will still be able to access green electronic resources via SOLO, using your Single Sign-On login; more information and any updates or changes to e-resources will be posted at https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/finding-resources/online-resources

Some of our e-resources providers will be extending provision and number of logins to cope with these unprecedented times. At the moment, however, we do not anticipate any possibility of making Electronic Legal Deposit items (by law, only available on Bodleian Libraries computers) available elsewhere, for which we apologise. If this changes, updates will be put on the online resources page.

There is now a COVID-19 tab on the ebooks libguide, which will contain more up-to-the-minute changes to provision: https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/e-books/covid-19

We will be monitoring the Library inbox of course, so if you have any questions you can contact us either at historyofmedicine@bodleian.ox.ac.uk or direct to bethan.jenkins@bodleian.ox.ac.uk and we will help where and when we can.

Please do what you are able to stay safe! Take care out there.

Bethan and George

Seminars in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology (Hilary Term, Week 2)

Who? This lecture will be given by Dr Taline Garibian.

What? ‘Proving violence: forensics and war crimes during the First World War’

Where? History Faculty Lecture Theatre, George Street, Oxford

When? Monday 27th January 2020, 16:00.

This lecture has been organised by the Oxford Centre for the History of Science, Medicine and Technology as part of the Seminars in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology series.

All welcome to attend!

Seminars in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology – Week 5, 11th November

Who? Next Monday’s seminar will be given by Professor Harvey Brown (University of Oxford), who will be speaking about ‘What was Einstein’s real achievement in his 1905 theory of special relativity?’

What? ‘Several years before Einstein published his 1905 theory of special relativity, ether theorists had essentially discovered the main relativistic effects predicted by the theory: length contraction, time dilation and the relativity of simultaneity. In this lecture I will argue that Einstein’s work was more than a novel exercise in packaging (providing a “principle” rather than “constructive” approach). It also introduced a completely unprecedented way of understanding the physical meaning of the mathematics of motion.’

Where? History Faculty Lecture Theatre, George Street, Oxford

When? Monday 11th November 2019, 16:00.

This lecture has been organised by the Oxford Centre for the History of Science, Medicine and Technology as part of the Seminars in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology series.

All welcome to attend!

Opening hours w/b 14th October

To our new students: Welcome! To our returning students: Welcome back!

We hope you have a wonderful Michaelmas term.

Our opening hours in Week 1 will be:

Monday: Unstaffed
Tuesday: 2.15pm-5pm
Wednesday: 2.15pm-4.30pm
Thursday and Friday: 2.15pm-5pm

The Library’s books on the history of medicine are available to search on SOLO, or you can view our newest arrivals on LibraryThing! New readers are always welcome; if you would like to visit please contact us by email or phone to arrange your appointment.

Have a splendid weekend!

A sailor being toasted by a group of his friends in a tavern as he is about to depart for New Zealand. Pencil, ink and wash, by S. Jenner. Credit: Wellcome CollectionCC BY

So long, farewell…

Today our Library Assistant for the past two years, Mary, leaves the unit library for a new job as Senior Library Assistant with our colleagues at the Radcliffe Camera! We are incredibly sad to lose her cheery and helpful presence around the library, but wish her all the best in her new post – we’re sure she will be fantastic!A wife sending her husband away on holiday in order to pursue an affair with a "nerve specialist" who has got the husband out of the way by recommending a change of scene for him. Colour process print, c. 1920.

Opening Hours w/b 25th June

The library will be open next week at the following times:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 2.15pm-5pm
Wednesday: 2pm-4.30pm

If you would like to visit the library, do contact us by email or phone to make an appointment.

Our books from shelfmarks RC to RM have now returned to the library following conservation treatment. However, please excuse our slightly jumbled state over the next week as we rearrange our shelves! If you find that a book you need isn’t in the right place on the shelf, let a member of staff know and we will locate it for you.

Have a great weekend!

Ayer’s Cherry Pectoral Trade Card, Lowell, Mass. : Dr. J.C. Ayer & Co., [between 1870 and 1879?]. This medicine contained opium or morphine which were on sale legally at the time in America. It was supposed to rapidly cure “colds, coughs, sore throat, influenza, laryngitis, quinsy, hoarseness, croup, bronchitis, asthma and catarrh” and provide relief from whooping cough and consumption. Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY