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Recipes and Remedies: Manuscript Cookbooks
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The Library holds about 40 manuscript receipt books in its collections. Many of the manuscripts contain a combination of culinary recipes, home remedies, and recipes for things like cosmetics and substances that would be used to accomplish general household tasks such as cleaning and polishing. Others are solely medical, containing formularies for the compounding of various remedies. This digital collection contains eleven English-language manuscript receipt books that were compiled between the seventeenth and the late nineteenth centuries in which the majority of the collected recipes are culinary in nature, but many recipes for home remedies are discoverable here as well. Funding for the conservation and cataloging of the 31 culinary
Show moreThe Library holds about 40 manuscript receipt books in its collections. Many of the manuscripts contain a combination of culinary recipes, home remedies, and recipes for things like cosmetics and substances that would be used to accomplish general household tasks such as cleaning and polishing. Others are solely medical, containing formularies for the compounding of various remedies. This digital collection contains eleven English-language manuscript receipt books that were compiled between the seventeenth and the late nineteenth centuries in which the majority of the collected recipes are culinary in nature, but many recipes for home remedies are discoverable here as well. Funding for the conservation and cataloging of the 31 culinary manuscripts was provided by the Pine Tree Foundation in 2012. Funding for the digitization of this group of English-language manuscripts was provided by the Pine Tree Foundation in 2019. READ MORE ABOUT THE MANUSCRIPTS →
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The Resurrectionists
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A collection of broadsides, ballads, pamphlets, prints, and more concerning the body-snatchers and murderers William Burke and William Hare, their accomplices, and their victims. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, intense anatomical study, with direct observation of dissection of human cadavers, was an integral part of medical training at Europe's leading medical schools. Educating doctors produced a demand for human bodies that quickly outstripped the supply. In the United Kingdom prior to 1832, where executed criminals were the primary legitimate source for cadavers, a bustling trade in bodies developed, with grave robbers, or "Resurrection Men," supplying the anatomists with illegal, but much-needed specimens. READ MORE →
Show moreA collection of broadsides, ballads, pamphlets, prints, and more concerning the body-snatchers and murderers William Burke and William Hare, their accomplices, and their victims. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, intense anatomical study, with direct observation of dissection of human cadavers, was an integral part of medical training at Europe's leading medical schools. Educating doctors produced a demand for human bodies that quickly outstripped the supply. In the United Kingdom prior to 1832, where executed criminals were the primary legitimate source for cadavers, a bustling trade in bodies developed, with grave robbers, or "Resurrection Men," supplying the anatomists with illegal, but much-needed specimens. READ MORE →
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Robert Matz Hospital Postcards
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The Robert Matz Hospital Postcards Collection consists of about 2000 postcards organized into three sub-collections: New York City (NYC), New York state (sans NYC), and United States (sans NY). The postcards range in date from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. Dr. Robert Matz donated the collection to The New York Academy of Medicine Library in several installments between 2015 and 2019. The postcards were printed using a variety of printing technologies, including photo-reproduction, lithography, chromolithography, etc. Some of the postcards were mailed and include messages. The messages vary from a simple note (Veterans Administration Hospital…) to an elaborate conversation ([New York Hospital]) and can be found written on
Show moreThe Robert Matz Hospital Postcards Collection consists of about 2000 postcards organized into three sub-collections: New York City (NYC), New York state (sans NYC), and United States (sans NY). The postcards range in date from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. Dr. Robert Matz donated the collection to The New York Academy of Medicine Library in several installments between 2015 and 2019. The postcards were printed using a variety of printing technologies, including photo-reproduction, lithography, chromolithography, etc. Some of the postcards were mailed and include messages. The messages vary from a simple note (Veterans Administration Hospital…) to an elaborate conversation ([New York Hospital]) and can be found written on the front, back, along the sides, and wherever the author found space. This pilot project represents a small portion of the NYC sub-collection of the Robert Matz Hospital postcards digitized by the New York Academy of Medicine Library. It showcases 118 hospital postcards from New York City. Hospitals from all five boroughs (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island) are represented, including public, private, not-for-profit, government, and military hospitals. This initial group of postcards was selected to highlight the wide variety of hospitals that existed in the city, to show how hospital and academic medical center buildings changed over time, to demonstrate the cultural value that the postcards can provide to the NYC metropolitan community and the public at large. A cross-section of images from various time periods was selected to enable users to explore these postcards in multiple ways. The collection shows images of hospital buildings, new and old, as well as images of doctors and patients, and of people representing different historical moments. These images allow researchers to gain a better understanding of the hospital, its patients, and staff. For example, “A Typical Ward, U.S. Army Hospital No. 1, Williamsbridge, N.Y.” provides the viewer with an image of what can be considered a typical ward in the Army hospital, including the patients. The Robert Matz Hospital postcards offer an opportunity to create a digital collection that can help researchers, local communities, and the public to better understand the evolution of hospitals from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries, how they relate to current hospitals, the role of postcards in advertising, the conversations that one shares on a private, yet public medium, the printing process, and many more topics related to this collection. The pilot project only scratches the surface and the hope is to continue to add to this digital collection. Please contact us at library@nyam.org if you would like to explore the collection beyond what is currently available digitally. Robert Matz Hospital Postcards Collection, late 19th century–mid-20th century.
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A Telling of Wonders: Teratology in Western Medicine through 1800
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This exhibit examines the evolution of teratology (i.e. the study of perceived abnormalities in the natural world, both real and imagined) through the eyes of physicians and philosophers. How have they considered and how have they intertwined different interpretations in their representations and explanations of wonders from Antiquity to the end of the 18th century? This richly illustrated exhibit includes pamphlets, rare broadsides, and significant books in the history of teratology drawn from the extensive collections of The New York Academy of Medicine Library. Caroline Duroselle-Melish, Reference Librarian, Historical Collections, conceived, researched, and developed “A Telling of Wonders: Teratology in Western Medicine through 1800”
Show moreThis exhibit examines the evolution of teratology (i.e. the study of perceived abnormalities in the natural world, both real and imagined) through the eyes of physicians and philosophers. How have they considered and how have they intertwined different interpretations in their representations and explanations of wonders from Antiquity to the end of the 18th century? This richly illustrated exhibit includes pamphlets, rare broadsides, and significant books in the history of teratology drawn from the extensive collections of The New York Academy of Medicine Library. Caroline Duroselle-Melish, Reference Librarian, Historical Collections, conceived, researched, and developed “A Telling of Wonders: Teratology in Western Medicine through 1800” physical exhibit. Open and free to the public, the exhibit was on display from November 1, 1999 to February 15, 2000 at the New York Academy of Medicine Library. Shortly after, the current online exhibit was created based on the physical exhibit. EXPLORE ONLINE EXHIBIT →
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William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards
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The William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards contains approximately 300 colorful pharmaceutical trade cards produced in the U.S. and France between 1875 and 1895 that were used to advertise a wide range of goods in the nineteenth century; although introduced (in the mid-eighteenth century) as an ephemeral form of advertisement, they soon became collectors' items and were mass-produced in collectible 'series' comparable to those produced by sports teams in the twentieth century. They are now regarded as some of the best source material for the study of advertising, technology and trade in the post-Civil War period. The collection was donated to the Academy Library by Mr. Helfand (one of the nation's leading collectors of
Show moreThe William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards contains approximately 300 colorful pharmaceutical trade cards produced in the U.S. and France between 1875 and 1895 that were used to advertise a wide range of goods in the nineteenth century; although introduced (in the mid-eighteenth century) as an ephemeral form of advertisement, they soon became collectors' items and were mass-produced in collectible 'series' comparable to those produced by sports teams in the twentieth century. They are now regarded as some of the best source material for the study of advertising, technology and trade in the post-Civil War period. The collection was donated to the Academy Library by Mr. Helfand (one of the nation's leading collectors of medical ephemera) in a series of individual gifts between 1986 and 1992. The collection includes a number of duplicates, some of which are useful for scholarly study (e.g. bearing the stamps of different distributing pharmacists). Scope Note: A collection of approximately 300 trade cards, ca. 1875 - ca. 1925 (bulk ca. 1875 - ca. 1914). Almost all advertise patent medicines or herbal remedies; a few deal with cosmetics, chocolate, or veterinary products. The collection includes a small number of French, German, Italian and Spanish cards; however, the bulk of collection is from the United States. Some of the companies represented manufactured the medicines and products advertised on the cards; others are local pharmacies which had their names printed onto cards advertising products they distributed. Many of the medicines and remedies claim to cure almost any complaint, or to address generalized conditions such as weakness, nervousness and general debility. Others address specific conditions or groups of ailments. Only a few cards list the printer or lithographer responsible for producing the image; very few indicate a date of publication or copyright. Historical Note: Trade cards are small illustrated advertisements that were distributed for free by manufacturers and retailers from the 17th century to the early 20th century. Following the Civil War, trade cards became enormously popular in the United States and were the most effective mass advertising medium until the end of the 19th century. Late 19th century American trade cards were typically small pasteboard cards printed with illustrations in multiple colors. These cards were either custom-produced for one firm or store, or issued as stock cards. Stock cards allowed a manufacturer or retailer to have printed or stamped their advertisement and/or name and address on the front or back of an existing illustrated card, thus avoiding the expense of having one specially made. Helfand, William H. The William H. Helfand collection of pharmaceutical trade cards. United States & France, 1875-1925.
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William S. Ladd Collection of Prints
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The William S. Ladd Collection of Prints consists of 671 prints, primarily portraits, dating from the 17th century through the early 19th century. In 1975, the Academy accepted the Ladd Collection as a gift from the Cornell University Medical College. William S. Ladd, the original donor, had been Dean of the Medical College and when his significant collection of prints came into the Medical College Library, Erich Meyerhoff, the Librarian, recognized its research value and the fact that such a collection properly belonged in a major research library. With the permission of the Dean of the Cornell University Medical College and the donor’s son, Dr. Anthony T. Ladd, Eric Meyerhoff offered the collection to the Academy. It was accepted and
Show moreThe William S. Ladd Collection of Prints consists of 671 prints, primarily portraits, dating from the 17th century through the early 19th century. In 1975, the Academy accepted the Ladd Collection as a gift from the Cornell University Medical College. William S. Ladd, the original donor, had been Dean of the Medical College and when his significant collection of prints came into the Medical College Library, Erich Meyerhoff, the Librarian, recognized its research value and the fact that such a collection properly belonged in a major research library. With the permission of the Dean of the Cornell University Medical College and the donor’s son, Dr. Anthony T. Ladd, Eric Meyerhoff offered the collection to the Academy. It was accepted and arrived in the Malloch Rare Book Room (now the Drs. Barry and Bobbi Coller Rare Book Reading Room) in May of 1975. The prints themselves had been accumulated in the first half of the 20th century by William S. Ladd. He had purchased a great many of them as deaccessioned duplicates from the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. Primarily portraits of significant and lesser known figures in medicine and science, the prints span a period from the early 17th century to the first half of the 19th century. The printing processes used to render the various images include etching, engraving, stipple, mezzotint, and lithography. Among the etchers, engravers, artists and lithographers are some very famous names, a history in fact of English and Continental art and printmaking, with a smattering of American efforts among the lot. For example, the portrait of John Syng Dorsey (1783-1818), a little known American surgeon who rated a footnote in Fielding Garrison’s An Introduction To The History Of Medicine, is an engraving after a painting by Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Sully, who had studied with Gilbert Stuart and Benjamin West, is best known for his famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware. The portrait of Charles Lucas (1713-1792), an Irish physician who did not even get a footnote in Garrison’s work, was engraved by James McArdell after a painting by Joshua Reynolds. James McArdell was an engraver who specialized in mezzotints. ...READ MORE The New York Academy of Medicine Library and the William S. Ladd Collection of Prints digitization was supported in part by funds from the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) through the New York State Regional Bibliographic Databases Program. Ladd, William S. The William S. Ladd Collection of Prints, ca. 1600 to ca. 1850.
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