By Ginny A. Roth ~ Today is Valentines Day, a day associated with hearts. In fact, the entire month of February is American Heart Month.
Category: Collections
Posts highlighting the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine
Sign of the Times: How An Environment for Innovation Helped Transform Cardiovascular Surgery
By Alyssa Gabay ~ During the two decades following World War II, Dr. Arthur Voorhees and Dr. Michael E. DeBakey emerged as medical pioneers. This
Fifteenth Century Books: When Doodles Matter
By Laura Hartman ~ It may seem hard to believe that a random scribbling or doodle on an empty page or margin of an old
Stanley N. Cohen Papers Open for Research
By James Labosier and John Rees ~ An important new archival collection, the Stanley N. Cohen Papers (1948–2016), is now available at the National Library
Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton’s America
An Interview with the curator of the newest exhibition at NLM, which explores how Philadelphia’s anxious residents responded to the epidemic using an uneasy blend of science and politics.
Opening the Vault: Finding Aids for Film
By Gabrielle Barr ~ Every day, staff at the National Library of Medicine are working to maintain and expand the online catalog that provides the
Closing the Book on “Shadows from the Walls of Death”
This collection of arsenic-laden wallpaper samples required special housing. NLM conservators encapsulated the pages in polyester film, welded shut with support from Smithsonian Libraries…
Remembering Elizabeth Fee, PhD, 1946-2018
Dr. Fee served most recently as NLM Senior Historian and previously as Chief of the NLM History of Medicine Division for over two decades. On October 17 Ted Brown, Professor of History and Medical Humanities at the University of Rochester, will offer a special public lecture in honor and memory of Dr. Fee.
Spice of History: A Gingerbread Recipe
Recipe books from the 18th century hold a combination of food recipes, herbal remedies, and other such household creations thought to improve health. Powell’s “ginger bread” recipe includes ingredients easily found in today’s grocery store and provides measures still in use today.
How to Become a Nurse and How to Succeed, ca. 1892
By Gabrielle Barr ~ “Don’t talk too long to patients…. Never lean against the table with one’s hands in one’s apron pockets…. Don’t be too
From Discovery to Digital Science: The U.S. National Library of Medicine
By Susan Crawford ~ My grandfather, John T. Brundage, MD was the only doctor in Moscow, Pennsylvania, a community of about 1000 people. Practicing medicine
Detailing Michael DeBakey’s War Years: Puzzle Pieces
By Sanders Marble ~ In November 2017, I was fortunate to get an NLM Michael E. Debakey Fellowship in the History of Medicine to explore
Scope Magazine (1941–1957)
By R. Roger Remington ~ Originally published in Hidden Treasure: The National Library of Medicine, 2011. Targeted at doctors, pharmacists, and other health professionals, Scope was
Revealing Data: Close Reading and Textual Analysis as Historical Methods
Historical medical journals provide unique perspectives on the development of expert understanding of transmission, morbidity, and impact during an epidemic. Examining the ways that medical
Revealing Data: Measuring Mortality during an Epidemic
Historical medical journals provide unique perspectives on the development of expert understanding of transmission, morbidity, and impact during an epidemic. Examining the ways that medical
Revealing Data: Using Term Frequency to Chart Influenza Reporting
Historical medical journals provide unique perspectives on the development of expert understanding of transmission, morbidity, and impact during an epidemic. Examining the ways that medical
One Medical Officer’s Armistice Day
By Susan L. Speaker ~ The newspaper headlines on November 11, 1918 were exultant: after more than four long years, the Great War was over!
The Truth About Black Cats
By Ginny A. Roth ~ “Who comes to disturb me at night?!” says the black cat from the roof of the house. How ominous. But
Revealing Data: Investigating The Hospital’s file sizes
By Ashley Bowen ~ For researchers interested in the administration of British hospitals in the late 19th and early 20th century, The Hospital is a
“Fit to Fight”: Home front Army doctors and VD during WW I
By Susan L. Speaker ~ After the United States entered the World War in April 1917, Dr. Wilbur Sawyer, a 37-year-old public health administrator with
