OSLER LIBRARY NEWSLETTERMcGILL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL, CANADA NO.6 - FEBRUARY 1971

THE OSLER CATALOGUE

BibliothecaOsleriana. A Catalogueof BooksIllustratingthe Historyof Medicine and Science. Collected, Arrangedand Annotated bySirWilliamOsler,Bt.,and bequeathed to McGillUniversity. (Editedby W.W.Francis, R.H. Hilland ArchibaldMalloch). xxxv, 785 pp.,large4°, Oxford, The ClarendonPress, 1929,63 s. (3 guineas).

ne rises from an evening over thisextraordinary volume with an evo-cation of an almost forgotten past,repeating to oneself, it may be, theoutmoded sentiment of some Vic-torian novelist - "Ah! those were

spring days!" It is now somethingover a decade since Sir William Osler

passed away at the close of the World War, yet here we areonce more, some of us, in close touch with the man, sensinghis unique personality on every page, vividly, even, in thosebracketed marginalia on his beloved books (signed "W.O.")which are the essence of fine bibliography. This catalogueof the great collection just dedicated at Montreal is a mam-moth quarto, untempting to the sight, suitable for a monk'slectern at 45 degrees, hard on the rectus abdominis if readin bed, yet so alluring that the owner is apt to lose himselfin it immediately, even into the small hours of the night. Itwould seem as if Osler were fortunate even in the time ofhis passing, for after 1918, he would have fallen, not neces-sarily upon evil days, to be weathered with the blithe sere-nity of his colleague Allbutt, who survived him five years,but upon a period in which the ethical, professional andpersonal ideals he lived for were broken down utterly, thedebiicle of a great civilization, when even

"Strong Hades could not keep his own,But all slid to confusion."

Life goes on as before, with "business as usual," youngpeople are more cheerful than ever, but not even Oslercould now say, with the poet he once attended: "Give methe pay I have served for: take all the rest." This volumeevokes memories of his universal friendliness to each andall, how he would go out of his way to cheer a colleaguewith the gift of a book out of the blue or an encouragingacknowledgement of some trite reprint; his sympathy withyoung people; his charm as an essential Victorian gentle-man of the younger school; the devotion of his pupils andfriends; the tragedy which closed his life; his service towounded soldiers in the war -

"Faithful, indeed, is the spirit that remembers,After such years of change and suffering."

The historiated letter used in this issue is from Jean Ruel (Ruellius),Veterinariae Medicillae libri II, 1530, B.a. 3851.

The book is compact of the nihil humani alienum in Osler,that universal interest in all things human which Singerrightly styled "oecumenical." The three editors, Francis,Hill, Malloch, with Mackall as Osler's chosen sleuth-hound,have acquitted themselvesnobly, making the dry bones livein a tome which will soon be prized like Haller's great Bib-liothecae. As an introduction to medical literature far moreinstructive than those of Boerhaave and Young, it is atriumphant verific'ationof Osler's expres~edview: "Thereis no better float through posterity than to be the authorof a good bibliography." It begins (followingthe editorialpreface) with one of the most fascinating things he everpenned, ¥l autobiographic sketch on "The Making of aLibrary." There follows the great Bibliotheca Prima, an al-mpst complete list of basic texts and related items illustrat-ing the history of medicine and general science, from Luc-retius to Rontgen. Some 67 names are featured in largetype as outstanding leaders of science, very much as inChoulant's Handbuch of 1841, and these Dr. Francis styles"Primarians". No exception could be taken to the OslerPrimariansup to the second half of the 19th century; but ifone misses Semmelweis, Charcot, Graefe, Ludwig, Kelvin,Maxwell and some other prime movers, the list is after all,Osler's own, representative of himself, and no more to bebickered over than an anthology of his (or another man's)favorite poems. The meaningbecomes clearer in Bibliothe-ca Secunda, which includes names and texts of secondaryimportance. If one misseshere the essential contributionsof some of his old familiars- Villemin, Trousseau, Frerichs,"Naunyn, Dejerine, Marie, Metchnikoff, hoc genus omne - itis at once apparent that, like Landor, he was alwaysgivingsuch items away to make room for others, to the value of asmall fortune. Upon the advent of such newer men as Pav-loff, Cajal, Aschoff, Emil Fischer, Loeb, Abderhalden,Schaudinn, Behring, Wassermann, Bordet, Carrel, Rubner,Gulstrand, the list obviously closes. Some items which de-serve a place in this wonderful collection - e.g., Baillou,Werlhof, Cruveilhier, Magendie, Sir W. Bowman, thepediatriccompend of the younger Heberden, Goodeve'stropical pediatrics, Peacock on malformations of the humanheart or the fragmentary history of medicine by Meryon(father of the famous etcher) will doubtless be added, asopportunity offers, by the faithful, who could have been ofmore material help in the master's lifetime had they realizedthe immense scope of his endeavor. By way of contrast,the third section, Bibliotheca Litteraria, is amazingly com-plete. We look for unusual medical poets like Campion,Lodge, Beddoes, Saint-Marthe, Littre, and sure enough,Campion et at. are there and even Sainte Beuve's finecauserie on Littre, with Osler's notation of its memorableclose: "Bien qu'il 11,'ait pas prononce Ie fameux Sermentqui lie au sacerdoce medical, il Ie porte ecrit dans soncoeur." Sections five (Bibliotheca Historica) and six (Bib-liotheca Bibliographica) are made up of items on the his-tory of medicine and bibliographic catalogues. Sectionseven (Incunabula) includes 104 items, apart from thosecited in Bibliotheca Prima; and Section eight 132 MSS.,

notably of Albertus Magnus (1437), Ferrari da Grado, HalyAbbas (Arabic), Johannes Jacobi, Lancisi, Nicolaus ofCusa, an indenture of Edward Osler as surgeon's apprentice(March 22, 1811), G.B. della Porta (autographic), Sir JohnHarington's translation of the Salernitan Regimen, Con-stantinus Africanus and 15 early diplomas of the Universi-ties of Bologna, Cambridge, Leyden, Padua, Pavia, Pisa,Rome, Utrecht and Venice. The appendix "Osleriana"con'tains the Edgerton Y. Davis items and a list of such in-triguing Osler MSS. as A Study of Dying, An AnniversaryAddress on Walt Whitman, Appeal to Hibernia Magna, Ima-ginary Letters from Fallopius & Co. on Howard Kelly'sOperative Gynecology, A Lecture on Life in the Tropics,The Lessons of Greek Medicine, St. Thelema, The Nervous-nessof American Women, the Transatlantic Voice and so on.The volume terminates with a remarkable list of Sinhalese,Persian, Arabic, Hindustani and Sanskrit medical MSS. andbooks, presented by Dr. Casey A. Wood. Of the collectionsmade by Osler himself, Harvey (165 items) and Sir ThomasBrowne (162 items) are probably as complete as human en-deavor can make them. The typography and proof readingare what might be expected from the Clarendon Press. Notonly should Oslerians vie with Cushing and Mackall in add-

ing missing classical texts of the smaller sort to this greatcollection, where possible,but should a seconden!argedandrevised edition appear, as seemsprobable, it could be madeinfinitely more valuable and viable, if issued in smallerandhandier volumes(we can almost see the book-loverreachingfor one of them with affection). May the present edition beto the next one as the 1543Vesaliusto the 1552-5Ve~a1ius,a collector's specimen, sought after for its historic associa-tions, but yielding to its successor in completeness,useful-ness and availability as a source of ready reference. As itstands, this volume ought to be in the hands of every sea-soned lover of medical books and of every student who.wishes access to the best bibliographic introduction tomedical literature since Haller and Boerhaave. Those whowork for the larger and more distant end will do so in thespirit which moved Sir Williamto put his remaining ener-gies into the task and Lady Osler to carry on in the fa~ ofdoubled loss-

"Make me see arightHow each hath back what he once stayed to weep,-Homer his sight, David his little lad."

F .H. Garrison

This review of the Bibliotheca Osleriana, by Fielding H.Garrison, is reprinted with the kind permission of the NewYork Academy of Medicine from its Bulletin, 2d ser., 5: 860-863, 1929. Readers are reminded that copies of the 1969reprint of the Bibliotheca, priced at $65.00 are still availablefrom the McGill-Queen's University Press. Excerpts from re-views of this reprinted edition are printed below.

"Attitudes towards books have changed significantly sinceOsler's day, and someone now reading the Bibliotheca forthe first time will be surprised to recognize how fully Osleraccepted his books and their al,lthors as part of the livinghuman community in which he moved. The phrase 'comesviae vitaeque,' which he applied on his deathbed to hisfavourite volume of Sir Thomas Browne, could in a sensehave been applied to any book in his library. The friendsand colleagues who completed the Bibliotheca after Osler'sdeath experienced the remarkable sensation that they re-mained in contact with Osler through their work on hisbooks. The generosity that made 13 Norham Gardens, Ox-ford, the 'Open Arms,' also made provision for a library inMontreal where his books continued to offer the welcomewhich he had offered during his lifetime. The BibliothecaOsleriana, in recording the relation of Osler to his books,records also a particular phase in the history of books them-selves""

A.E. Malloch,English Department,

Papers of the Bibliographic McGillUniversitySociety of Canada/Cahiers dela Societe Bibliographique du Canada, 1969 , Vol. VIIr

"00.If we can truly judge a man's character by the books onhis shelves, we should know much of Osler from the Bib-liotheca Osleriana; because he annotated many of the en-tries, we learn even more.

".. .Osler's basic humanism and his fascination with peopleas individuals comes through repeatedly, as in his conclud-ing comment on Gui Patin's letters (#5277)'from whichone learns to forgive the bitter hate and the obstructionist,and to love the" man for his spirit, his books, and hisfriends.'

"Unlike Patin, there is little for which we must forgive Os-ler, and many reasons to love the man for his spirit, hisfriends, and - as this catalogue makes clear - his books."

JAMA, June 22, 1970

Charles G. Roland, M.D.,Mayo Clinic,Rochester, Minn.

"How fitting it is to say here 'What's past is prologue.' Inthis newly issued.BO the entire purpose of the Osler Li-brary's and theBO 'spast are exquisitely evaluated and plac-ed in perspectivein a delightful six-pagePrologue by LloydG. Stevenson whose past and present occupations havekept him in close touch with the McGill library" Dr. Ste-venson's essay is the most cogent evaluation we have everhad - including Cushing's remarks - about Osleras a col-lector and appreciative reader. No better analysis of thevalue of the BO and its importance has appeared in print,and one can certainly agree that, in spite of faults aboutwhich there has always been too much carping, the pur-poses of the book are still bright and new and valid."

LeeAsh,New Haven, Conn.Bull. Med. Lib. Ass. 1970, 58(2)

EXHIBITS

The Practice of PharmacyIn July and August 1970, an exhibit of ceramic ware fromthe 17th and 18th centuries, and contemporary Englishher-bals and pharmacopoeias, was held. Prof. T.H. Clark ofMc-Gill's Department of Geological Sciences, generously lent13 pieces from his personal collection of Englishand Euro-pean ceramics.

Cholera in the Nineteenth CenturySeptember through December saw the Library examiningcholera through the use of 19th century books, maps, andbroadsides, as well as 1970 clippings from newspapers onthe current outbursts of cholera. One broadside for Ox-ford's St. Giles Fair was a CAUTION AND REMON-STRANCE TO ALL DRUNKARDS A~m REVELLERSAND TO THE THOUGHTLESS AND IMPRUDENTOFBOTHSEXES, 1832. Severalexhibit caseswere devoted toCanada, with early Montreal medical journals such asMedical Chronicle and British American Journal. . . ofMedical and Physical Sciences featured.

Maude Abbott at McGill

An exhibit will be opened late in February honouring Dr.Abbott, co-ordinated with the joint meeting of the Ameri-can Association of Pathologists and the International Aca-demy of Pathologists in the first week of March. It will rununtil June 1971.

AMERICAN OSLER SOCIETY

In February 1970 this group organized and has providedthe following statement of its aims:

"The stature of William Osler as a great and wisephysician increases with the years. The American OslerSociety meets as a group of physicians and members of re-lated professions, united by the common purpose of keep-ing alive the memory of William Osler and keeping ourselvesvigilantly attentive to the lessons found in his life and teach-ings. It is proposed to hold meetings periodically to presentand discuss papers on Osler's life and his influence uponthe profession; to publish such essays as Proceedings of theSociety; to keep the memory of Osler fresh by placing be-fore the profession a continual reminder of his high prin-ciples of life and humanism in practice; and to teach youngmen and women entering the medical profession of Osler'scontinuing inspiration."

The Society is most interested in gathering information onOsler lectures, essays, professorships, and clubs honouringSir William's memory. Readers who can provide this helpare invited to contact the Secretary of the American OslerSociety directly: John P. McGovern, M.D., McGovern Al-lergy Clinic, 6655 Travis Street, Houston, Texas 77025.

OSLER MUSEUM DEMOLISHED

"I am writing to inform you of the untimely demise anddestruction of the Osler Museum or old Pathological Build-ing at the Philadelphia General Hospital. Various futile ef-forts were made to preserve this building but were of noavaiL" Thus writes Dr. Lawrence C. McHenry, Jr. from theStroke Research Centre at the Philadelphia General Hos-pital.

Built in the 1860's as a post-house, the small two-storeybuilding was used by Sir William Osler, among others, as anautopsy room from 1884 to 1889. In 1931 it was super-ceded by new buildings and was designated as the "OslerMemorial Building" by the Medical Board of the PhIladel-phia General Hospital. It was restored in 1940 wit!). fundsfrom Wyeth, Inc. and support from an Osler MemorialCommittee, and reopened with the autopsy room as it hadbeen in Osler's time. Other rooms were devoted to the Hos-pital's archival records, Osleriana, and the older books(1752-1920) belonging to the Hospital. In 1950 it was re-furbished again for the presentation of a painting by DeanCornwell, "Osler at Old Blockley."

Efforts to preserve the building were unavailing, and in theautumn of 1970 it was tom down. Contents of the Museum,being furniture, instruments, books, manuscript records andpictures, were saved and are stored in various places await-ing the day when they may be incorporated into the futurePhiladelphia General Hospital.

OSLER SOCIETY BANQUET

Plans are now under way for the 50th anniversary banquetof the Osler Society which will be held in the Faculty Clubon Thursday, April 1s1. On this historic occasion the speak-er is to be Dr. E.H. Bensley, reminiscing about "Dr. W.W.Francis - Patron of the OslerSociety." Tickets,at $12.50for attending staff and $6.00 for house staff and students,will be availablefrom members of the Society and from theLibrary.

13 NORHAM GARDENS, OXFORD

At a recent meeting in Winnipeg of the Standing Committeeof Medical School Libraries of the Association of Canadian

Medical Colleges, it was announced that the Regius Pro-fessor of Medicine at Oxford, Dr. W.R.S: Doll, is forming acollection of books honouring Sir William Osler. This col-lection will grace the now-empty shelves at the former Ox-ford home of Sir William, from whence came the nucleus oftoday's Osler Library. Readers of this Newsletter may par-ticipate by offering in writing books about Osler, by Osler,or with Osler's signature, to the co-ordinator for NorthAmerica, Dr. William C. Gibson, Department of the Historyof Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver,B.C. When accepted, the books can then be sent directly toDr. Doll at 13 Norham Gardens, Oxford, England. Offersfrom individuals and institutions are welcomed.

THE DEPARTMENT OF THE HISTORY OFMEDICINE AND THE OSLER LIBRARY

Some confusion may exist in the minds of some people,both within and outside the McGillcommunity, concern-ing the relationship between the Osler Library and the De-partment of the History of Medicine. Such confusionwould be understandable since the connections are closeand subtle and, to an outsider, the functions of the variouspersonnel are not always clearly distinguishable. This isfurther compounded by the physical proximity of the two.The Library and the Department share the two-storey "Oslerwing" of the McIntyre Medical Sciences Building, the Li-brary occupying the entire third floor, with stack spaceabove. The Department offices are off the WellcomeCamera Mezzanine on the fourth floor and access to themis through the Library.In 1966, with assistance from the WellcomeTrust, the De-partment of the History of Medicine was established andDr. Donald Bates was appointed Associate Professor andChairman. As Acting Osler Librarian he is, together withthe Board of Curators, ultimately responsible for the basicpolicies of the Library, while Miss Ellen Wells, who suc-ceeded MissCecileDesbarats as Associate Osler Librarian, isresponsible for its day-to-day operations. The Library ispart of the McGill libraries system, working closely withother libraries on campus, particularly the MedicalLibrary,within that system. (Readers who are unfamiliar with theLibrary's general history might consult an article by Dr.Charles G. Roland entitled "The Osler Library," which ap-peared in the June 5, 1967 issue of the Journal of the Ame-rican Medical Association (vol. 200, pp 865-870). Somerecent developments in the Library were discussed in theNewsletter of June 1970.)

The Department, on the other hand, is a member of theFaculty of Medicine, participating in its teaching and re-search programmes. The Department's support has beengreatly enhanced by the establishment in 1965 of a fully-endowed Chair, the Thomas F. CottO!)Professorship in theHistory of Medicine. To date the emphasishas been on theteaching of medical history in the undergraduate medicalcurriculum. Since 1968 a 20-hour survey course in this sub-ject has been a required part of the first-year medical cur-riculum; opportunities exist for 100weekelectives in thesecond, third and fourth years; summer research projectsare being provided. Individual lectures and seminars havealso been given within the teaching programmes of otherdepartments in the medical school and elsewhere in theFaculty of Arts and Science. Next fall, under the auspicesof the Department of fIistory, Dr. Bates will give a courseentitled "Medicine and Society: the intellectual and socialbackground to modern medicine." In time, academic pro-grammes at the graduate levelwill be offered.

The establishment of the Department and the resultinggrowth of the Library have been reflected in an increase inthe size of the Library staff. In its early days, Dr. Francisworked alone; today Miss Wells is assisted by five full-timeand, at the moment, four part-time staff members. Thispast year has also seen an almost complete turnover in per-sonnel and many of our readers may be surprised to findfamiliar names missing from the list which follows. In par-ticular, long-time friends of the Library will note that Mrs.Betty Wainwright is no longer with us; she and her husband

have recently retired to Nova Scotia from where we havereceived glowingreports of their new life. Of the presentstaff, two are professional librarians, MissSusan Gillespieand Miss Marilyn Fransiszyn, whose chief responsibility iscataloguing;for the next few months they have been joinedin specialprojects by two library school students, MissCarolKlassen and MissHalina Szypulin. Visitors to the Libraryare usually assisted by Mr. George Ekins or Mrs. SusanDinsley who share responsibility for public services. Cardproduction is the responsibility of Mrs. Ruth Adler andpart-time clerical help is provided by another student assis-tant, Miss Gilda Shemie. The newest staff member, Mrs.Zlata Blazina, handles the processing of the approximately1000 new acquisitions per year. Although not officially amember of the Osler staff, Mrs. Harriette Siteman is verymuch a part of the Library, keeping it bright and gleaming.Last, but far from least, a special friend and unofficial staffmember is our voluntary worker, MissMarion Wright,whoprovides tender loving care (and leather dressing)to Osler'sprecious books.

The staff of the Department, on the other hand, has re-mained small. There are two faculty members: Dr. Bates,and Dr. E.H. Bensley, former Vice-Dean of the MedicalFaculty, who is our resident expert on Canadian and localmedical history. The third member of the Department isMissNancy Grant, secretary and research assistant.

Although the ties between the Library and the Departmentwill likely always remain close and subtle, the distinctionsare becoming increasingly apparent as each grows and de-velops within its own sphere of interest and along its ownlines of responsibility. The day may come when physicalseparation of the two will correspond to their increasingfunctional separation. But one thing is certain: the growthof academic programmes and the development of researchin the history of medicine are very much contingent uponthe continued growth of the Osler Library.

SALE OF DUPLICATES

The last issue of the Newsletter included a list of duplicatesoffered for sale by the Library. We have been delightedwith the response: a total of 97 items have been sold, add-ing approximately $600 to the special Osler Library-MedicalLibrary fund. To those who were unsuccessful in obtainingthe books they wanted, our sincere apologies - and betterluck next time!

Our readers may be interested to know that the auction saleof Osler Library duplicates by Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc.,New York has now been set for April 6th.

Editorial Committee for the Newsletter: Ellen B. Wells, Editor,Nancy Grant, Associate Editor, Dr. E.H. Bensley, Advisor, KarlHoleczek, Photography.

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