Items
Warning message
You must authorize Drupal to use your Google Analytics account before you can view reports.Pages
- Title
- 19. Execution : a full and true account of the last speech and dying declaration of William Burke, who was executed at Edinburgh this morning, for murder, and his body given for dissection; also of his conduct and behaviour since his condemnation, and on the scaffold
- Description
- Illustrated broadside. Cut and mounted.
- Language
- English
- Collection
- The Resurrectionists
- Title
- Vesalius’s De humani corporis Fabrica
- Description
-
Andreas Vesalius’s De humani corporis Fabrica of 1543 is probably the most beautiful anatomical atlas produced in the 16th century. Vesalius, the 28 year old professor of anatomy at the University of Padua at the time of the book’s publication, spared no expense in hiring extraordinary craftsmen to create the woodblocks to illustrate his monumental atlas and we know that some of the drawings that were transferred to the blocks were made by Jan Stephen van Calcar, a Venetian artist working in Titian’s studio, although the block cutters themselves are unidentified. Despite Vesalius’s attempt to protect the images in the Fabrica through the acquisition of various royal privileges, they immediately became extremely popular and were widely reproduced in many other publications.
In 1932, Samuel Lambert, who had been the Academy's 32nd president, began raising money for the publication of the Icones Anatomicae, an edition of all of the images from the two editions of the Fabrica (1543 and 1555) and some of Vesalius’s other publications. Lambert studied and wrote about the historiated initials that appeared in the Fabrica, and a colleague suggested to him that the original wood blocks might still survive. He wrote to Dr. Willy Wiegand of the Bremer Press in Munich, asking if he would do some investigation. Wiegand visited the library at the University of Munich and a search turned up a box containing 227 of the blocks used in the production of the Fabrica and its companion publication from 1543, the Epitome (but none of the blocks for the initials). In light of this felicitous discovery, Lambert approached the Academy with the idea of publishing an edition of the rediscovered images.
Lambert envisioned a very ambitious and beautiful book, which is described at length in the Prospectus. After the discovery of the blocks, Lambert began raising money for a Library Publication Fund, and amassed over $15,000 from various donors by the end of 1932. The University of Munich agreed to co-publish the volume with NYAM, and Willy Wiegand, the head of the Bremer Press, was engaged as the printer. As we can see from the information in the Prospectus, no expense was spared in the creation of the book. Fine handmade paper with a special watermark was created especially for the volume, and photographic reproductions of the missing blocks were made and subtly marked in the descriptive tables.
Four hundred copies of the Icones Anatomicae were printed and sent to NYAM; an additional 295 copies were printed for the European market. At the same time, a small number of portfolios of 40 loose plates, the Tabulae Selectae, was printed as well. For years, individuals wrote to the NYAM librarians requesting individual images from the Tabula, which were sold at a very modest price. The portfolio was also available as a complete set. The title pages of both the 1543 and the 1555 editions of the Fabrica are included in the Tabula, along with a number of the skeletons, muscle men and flayed men that are some of the Fabrica's most iconic images.
Sadly, both the woodblocks and all of the copies of the German edition of the Icones were destroyed during the bombing of Munich in the summer of 1944, so NYAM has the distinction of being the organization that was responsible for the final inking and printing of the beautiful 16th century blocks.
Vesalius, Andreas. [Icones anatomicae, tabulae selecta]. Munich, 1935.
Photography by Ardon Bar-Hama courtesy of George Blumenthal.
- Title
- NYAM Lectures Broadcast by WNYC
- Description
-
Forty lectures on medicine and society that NYAM produced and WNYC-FM broadcast in the 1950s. Digitized from the original lacquer disks.
- Title
- Pomet's Bezoar with Goat
- Description
- The French druggist Pierre Pomet devotes a section of his comprehensive history of drugs to bezoars, explaining that the stones appear in the stomachs of cows, apes, and goats. Pomet's goat leaps over a bezoar, sliced open like a geode to reveal its efficacious core. Pomet argues that this bezoar, produced in the belly of a high-leaping wild goat common in the East Indies, would promote sweat and drive away malignant humors. We'd wager Monsieur Pomet, apothecary to Louis XIV, could give even Snape a run for his wand in a battle of the Potion-Masters.
- Collection
- How to Pass Your O.W.L.s at Hogwarts: A Prep Course
- Title
- Defense Against the Dark Arts
- Description
-
Harry’s scar serves as a constant reminder that it is a dangerous world out there, with powerful wizards capable of great destruction. Familiarize yourself with these Defense-Against-the-Dark-Arts protections, and you’ll feel a little more confident about facing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…or at least develop some strategies for making it through class unscathed.
Disclaimer: This exhibition is not licensed or endorsed by Warner Bros. or J.K. Rowling.
- Title
- Lykosthenes' Salamander
- Description
- Konrad Lykosthenes tells us in 1557 that the salamander has a highly toxic venom, so strong it would taint all of the fruit on a tree it climbed. He also connects the animal with fire, arguing that the salamander can put out flames with its touch. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, salamanders are born from flames; Fred and George also feed one fireworks as a prank, and it releases tangerine stars (not inappropriate given the stellar designs on this fellow's back). Don't let the twins give you any ideas or that'll be ten points from Gryffindor.
- Collection
- How to Pass Your O.W.L.s at Hogwarts: A Prep Course
- Title
- Malena is the best remedy on Earth [from verso]
- Description
- Back of trade card advertising Malena, a remedy for skin disorders and joint diseases. Text provides instructions on use for various ailments.
- Manufacturer
- Malena Co. (Warriors Mark (Pa.: Township))
- Language
- English
- ID
- WH300
- Collection
- William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards
- Title
- Bronx
- Title
- Dissection Scene
- Title
- Leo, Astronomicae Veteres
- Description
- Master printer and innovator Aldus Manutius produced some of the finest early books printed in Venice. His extraordinary collection, the Scriptores Astronomici Veteres, included four astronomical texts that date from the Hellenistic period through imperial Rome. This star-studded Leo is one of many constellations illustrating the Greek poet Aratus's Phaenomena, one of the few illustrated works produced by the Aldine Press (they're modeled on earlier woodcuts produced by another Venetian printer, Erhard Ratdolt for his star atlas in 1482). Leo has special resonance for Hogwarts students as the sign of both Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling herself: both were born on July 31, and the lion is the regal animal behind Harry's house. Hail, Gryffindor!
- Collection
- How to Pass Your O.W.L.s at Hogwarts: A Prep Course
- Title
- Kircher's Three-headed Dog full
- Description
- This engraving, found in Athanasius Kircher's two volume work on music, depicts Orpheus playing the hellhound Cerberus to sleep in order to gain passage to the Underworld. In classical sources, Cerberus was not usually so easily tamed: to the Greeks, he was a monstrous three-headed dog. A glance at Cerberus was said to petrify humans, and his bite was poisonous. Most Greek sources describe Cerberus as possessing three heads, as does Fluffy, the fearsome guard dog who blocks passage to the underground vault guarding the philosopher's stone. Spoiler alert: Harry and his friends take a cue from Orpheus's book and soothe Hogwarts' vicious pup by picking a drowsy tune.
- Collection
- How to Pass Your O.W.L.s at Hogwarts: A Prep Course
- Title
- Divination
- Description
-
Advanced wizards eager to answer the question “Where do you see yourself in ten years?” may enjoy reading up on the fundamentals of divination, devoted to strategies for forecasting the future. In case you’re wondering if J.K. Rowling’s centaurs had a monopoly on the art, early modern natural philosophers like Robert Fludd were very much engaged in questions related to astrology and how the planets governed human outcomes.
Disclaimer: This exhibition is not licensed or endorsed by Warner Bros. or J.K. Rowling.
- Title
- The House with the Blue Front: Babies' Pure Milk Stations
- Description
- A four-sided circular containing the reprinted text of the article, "The House With the Blue Front," published by the New York Times on Sunday, May 14, 1911. The article highlights and justifies the educational outreach program instituted by the New York Milk Committee as a facet of their fight against infant mortality. This program includes maternal education programs conducted both at milk stations and in the home by visiting nurses. Photographs illustrating these "consultation classes" accompany the text.
- Subjects (LC)
- Milk depots, Infants, Mothers, Education
- ID
- mk1e016
- Geographic Subject
- New York. New York City.
- Collection
- New York Milk Committee Ephemera Collection
- Title
- What Happened in ___ During the Hot Spell?
- Description
- This blank postcard, labeled "Efficient Citizenship No. 454," promotes the achievements of the New York Milk Committee and allied agencies in their fight against infant mortality from July 1 -15, 1911. Statistics from thirteen American cities are provided, as is the reason for the campaign's success: access to, and use of, "good milk." The postcard verso includes a chart of "baby deaths for one year" -- tracking seasonal changes in mortality rates -- and asks the reader to consider, "When does the spurt come in your city?" Contact information for the New York Milk Committee is also provided.
- Subjects (LC)
- Mortality, Milk, Summer, Infants, Hygiene, Health
- ID
- mk1e010
- Geographic Subject
- New York. New York City.
- Collection
- New York Milk Committee Ephemera Collection
- Title
- Lykosthenes' Phoenix with Flames
- Description
- One of the earliest descriptions of the mythical phoenix dates to Herodotus, who described a bird with red-and-gold plumage that appears in Heliopolis once every 500 years. This woodcut is from the Alsatian chronicler of curiosities and humanist Konrad Lykosthenes. Worried this distressed rara avis will go the way of kindling? Not a chance! Not only is the Order rooting for him, but, as Dumbledore's patronus, we're pretty sure he's on the rise, especially on Burning Day.
- Collection
- How to Pass Your O.W.L.s at Hogwarts: A Prep Course
- Title
- Urine Wheel Diagram
- Description
- The urine wheel diagram is yet another visual trope adapted from medieval manuscripts. Urine texts were very popular, and while the urine consult scene appears to be original to the Fasciculus medicinae, several medieval medical texts included this circular diagram to aid a physician in remembering the various attributes of urines, and what they indicated about a person’s health. It is set up like a wagon wheel, with the urines grouped together by color. The outer edge of the wheel describes each color in detail by comparing it to a common object; for example, “The color of this urine is yellow like gold.” The inner circle of the diagram further divides the urines into groups of colors, and what producing a urine in that color signified about a person’s digestion and overall health. In each of the four corners of the page outside of the diagram are descriptions of the four temperaments, sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic, and what urine colors meant in regard to a person’s humoral balance. 1495: The urine wheel diagram is not in this 1495 version, for reasons unknown. 1500: In this version, the artist has tried to represent the urine colors using the color descriptions at the base of each jar around the wheel. This diagram also includes an introduction discussing the Fasciculus at the top center of the page, as well as a brief few lines of verse mentioning the connections between the four humors, the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), and the four complexions or temperaments. All were thought to be tied together, and revealed much about a person’s personality and physical tendencies. 1509: The urine wheel is the only image in the 1509 edition that includes color. The urines are lightly painted to correspond to their textual descriptions. Unfortunately, a large part of the upper portion of this page has been damaged, and subsequently repaired. The same few lines of verse describing the temperaments and complexions (translated into Italian) can be seen at the bottom of this page between the descriptions of phlegmatic and melancholic temperaments. 1513: The 1513 version is essentially the same as the 1500 version, although without the colors. 1522: The 1522 version is the same as the 1513 and 1500 versions, but translated into Italian and lacking any color.
- Title
- Out of Town
- Description
- Within this folded circular produced by the New York Milk Committee is a sentimental poem contrasting the summer holidays of wealthy city dwellers with the fate of working-class infants struck down by disease. Opposing phtographs of healthy children, poor children, country life, and city life emphasize the poem's theme. The back side of the circular lists milk stations where city parents can find care and relief for their children.
- Subjects (LC)
- Milk, Infants, Mothers, Summer, Death, Poetry, Funeral processions, Mortality, Mortality
- ID
- mk1e001
- Geographic Subject
- New York. New York City.
- Collection
- New York Milk Committee Ephemera Collection
- Title
- Bloodletting Figure