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home Events and Exhibits, Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives William Osler, W. J. Calvert, and MU’s Vesalius

William Osler, W. J. Calvert, and MU’s Vesalius

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Events and Exhibits Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
Posted on

This post is by Amanda Sprochi, Health Sciences Cataloger at the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library.

Often called "the Father of Modern Medicine," William Osler was a Canadian physician, pathologist, and internist who established the programs of clinical clerkship and medical residency still in use in medical schools today. One of the four founders of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, he continued his career as the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University and later was conferred a baronetcy and knighted.

Osler was from an early age a lover of books, and as his career advanced (and his salary along with it) he became a collector of rare medical volumes, such as the De Humani Corporis Fabrica he donated to the University of Missouri Medical School. He was known to buy works for libraries whose collections were lacking particular volumes, or to encourage other philanthropists to donate them. His own library eventually numbered 8,000 volumes, which he detailed in an extensive bibliography called the Bibliotheca Osleriana. Osler's collection was donated to McGill University upon his death where it forms the core of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine.

Sir William Osler donated a copy of Vesalius' seminal work, De Humani Corporis Fabrica, to the University of Missouri Medical School Library in 1909. In his entry on Vesalius in the Bibliotheca Osleriana, he mentions donating a copy to the University of Missouri "to my old student and friend Calvert, at that time Professor of Anatomy." He indicates in the Bibliotheca that at the time, copies of the Fabrica were "numerous and very often appear in sale catalogues at prices ranging from 10 to 20 varying with the condition." It is safe to say that the days of buying a first edition of Vesalius' work for $30-$40 are long over.

There is a bit of mystery involved with the MU Fabrica. In his original letter to the Medical Faculty, Osler mentions that he is sending a first edition, published 1543. In fact, the volume he sent was a second edition, published in 1555, as evidenced by the frontispiece and the number of lines per page. The 1543 edition has 57 lines per page; the 1555 has 49. There are also differences in the frontispiece between the first and second editions, the most notable being the staff held by the skeleton in the center of the image, which changes from a pole to a scythe, as well as content differences between the two editions. The MU Fabrica was rebound sometime in the 18th or 19th century, however, and the spine was stamped 1543 in Roman numerals. Whether this was a mistake or was done to fool unwary buyers is unknown.

Osler purchased a number of Fabricas in his lifetime, and was a well-known and expert collector of rare medical texts. It is unlikely that he would not have known the difference between the 1543 and 1555 editions of the book. It is equally unlikely that he would have deliberately sent one volume masquerading as the other. Perhaps he simply grabbed and sent the wrong one. At any rate, the gift was a priceless one in honor of a much-favored student and friend, and is a wonderful addition to the MU Library collection.

The volume in its current conservation binding by Jim Downey at Legacy Bookbindery.

home Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives Vesalius at 500 exhibit opens today at Ellis Library

Vesalius at 500 exhibit opens today at Ellis Library

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Events and Exhibits Special Collections and Archives
Posted on

December 31, 2014, will mark the five hundredth birthday of Andreas Vesalius, one of the most important anatomists in the history of medicine. The MU Libraries will commemorate this historic occasion with an exhibition entitled Vesalius at 500: Student, Scholar, and Surgeon, on view November 5-30 in the Ellis Library Colonnade.

Andreas Vesalius is frequently called the father of modern human anatomy. Born in 1514 in modern-day Belgium, he studied at the Universities of Louvain, Paris, and Padua before becoming a professor of anatomy and surgery at the University of Padua. His primary contribution to the history of medicine was his emphasis on dissection and firsthand observation. Vesalius differed from his colleagues because he used his observations to challenge ancient and often inaccurate Greek and Roman medical writings, which formed the basis of all medical knowledge for over a thousand years.

esalius at 500 showcases materials from the Libraries’ collections that helped to shape Vesalius’ career, including medieval manuscripts and early printed books on medicine. The centerpiece of the exhibition is Vesalius’ most famous work, De Humani Corporis Fabrica. The Libraries hold two copies of this important book, a second edition printed in 1555, and a later edition from 1568. Recognizing MU’s strength in human and animal medical research, the exhibition considers Vesalius’ effect on the history of veterinary medicine with several early illustrated works on animal anatomy. Works of Renaissance science are also included in order to situate Vesalius within the world of sixteenth-century scientific thought.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Dr. Gheorghe M. Constantinescu, a professor of veterinary anatomy in the College of Veterinary Medicine at MU, will present “Andreas Vesalius: On the 500th Anniversary of His Birth” on November 12 at 12:00 pm. Dr. Constantinescu is a medical illustrator and author investigating the gross anatomy of domestic and laboratory animals. His presentation will be held in room 4f51a in Ellis Library.

Vesalius at 500: Student, Scholar, and Surgeon is curated by a team of rare book librarians from the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library, the Zalk Veterinary Medical Library, and Ellis Library’s Special Collections and Rare Books department. The exhibition draws on MU Libraries’ special collections of more than 100,000 original artworks, manuscripts, rare books, and historic documents. The collections, exhibition, and lecture are all free and open to the public.

The gallery below contains a selection of images from De Humani Corporis Fabrica, and we will share more materials from the exhibition over the course of November.

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