OSLER LIBRARY NEWSLETTERMcGILL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL, CANADA No. 32 - OCTOBER 1979

f the many queries which theOsler Library receives concern-ing Sir William Osler, one ofthe commonest is whether ornot he had a book-plate. To thesurprise of most of our corre-spondents, the reply is that henever had one. It is true that thebooks bequeathed by Osler to

McGill University do contain a book-plate with the fol-lowing inscription:

FROMTHE LIBRARY

OF

SIR WILLIAM OSLER, Bart.OXFORD

In view of its plain character and lack of any decorativecomponent, Dr. Francis preferred to call it a book-label.But book-label or book-plate, it cannot be regarded asbelonging to Sir William Osler. Francis has written, "Ithink it was devised by Lady Osler after his [that is, Osler's]death to distinguish the books that were to go to McGill".

However, there is good evidence that Osler wanted a book-plate. In a letter to Dr. Herman T. Radin of New Yorkdated 31 December 1913, Osler wrote, "I am sorry to saythat I have not got a book-plate. I have had many designs,but none entirely satisfactory, but when I have one I shallsurely remember you." About a year later (4 January 1915)be told Mabel Brewster that his book-plate "is still wait-ing until I can find someone who can put in a moderatespace something distinctive of the four Universities withwhich I have been connected".

In a reply to one of the frequent queries about an Oslerbook-plate, Francis wrote, "Osler never had a book-plate,though more than one was unofficially designed for him,one, I think, by Cushing". And recently we have located apostcard dated 25 September 1910 in which Osler asksHarvey Cushing, "Did you ever send me that sketch whoyou made of an Oslerian Bk-plate"? That Cushing shouldhave concerned himself with this seems entirely natural inview of his keen interest in designing his own family book-plate. *

* John F. Fulton, Harvey Cushing: a biography, CharlesC Thomas, 1946, pp. 135-138 and illustration betweenpp. 148 and 149.

One of the features of the Osler Library's semicen-tennial year has been the publication of a bookabout the Library. Elegantly designed by Robert R.Reid, artistically illustrated by Karen Coshof, andprovided with an accompanying text, The OslerLibrary offers a pictorial tour of the Library inter-spersed with stories about some of the books, andthe people behind them. Enclosed with the News-letter is a brochure giving further details of thispublication.

In view of this reference to Cushing, we asked Mr. FerencGyorgyey, Medical Historical Librarian of the YaleMedical Library, if he knew of a Cushing sketch of a book-plate for Osler. Mr. Gyorgyey searched the CushingCollections at Yale and found such a sketch in a volumeassembled by Cushing and entitled "Sir William Osler,Correspondence, H.C. 1898-1919".With the kind permis-sion of the Yale Medical Library, the sketch is reproducedon the next page of this Newsletter. Both Mr. Gyorgyeyand Miss Elizabeth Thomson of Yale University testifythat it was undoubtedly made by Harvey Cushing. Theposition of the sketch in the volume indicates its date tohave been 1910.Obviously Cushing did his best to include"something distinctive of the four Universities" withwhich Osler had been connected. The note above thesketch reads, ["This is the one we do not care for & theother walked away". The handwriting is almost certainlyLady Osler's. Her comment suggests that she was beingconsulted about the various designs and was at leastpartly responsible for Osler's inability to find one thatwas satisfactory. Also it should be mentioned that theadded responsibilities and anxieties imposed by WorldWar I probably diverted their attention from this endeav-our. In any event, the final result was that Sir WilliamOsler never acquired a book-plate.

E. H. BENSLEY

Printed in Canada by

Taylor Printing and Mailing limited, Montreal

Legal Deposit 3/1979ISSN 0085-4557

Editorial Committee for the Newsletter: E.H. Bensley, Editor;Philip Teigen, Osler Librarian; Karin Waterhouse, Editorial Assistant.

The historiated letter on this page is taken from Jan Baptista vanHelmont, Works: containing his most excellent Philosophy. Physick,Chirurgery,Anatomy, London:printedfor L lloyd, 1664 (Bibl. OsL2930)

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Sketch of proposed Oslerian book-plate by Harvey Cushing

A BEQUEST FROM HONOR MARY KIDD

The Osler Library has received a bequest, amounting to$12,500, from the Estate of the late Honor Mary Kidd,M.D., C.M., McGill, 1947. As a medical undergraduateat McGill, Honor Kidd became a member of the OslerSociety in 1945, the year in which women were first admit-ted as student members of that Society. She was the firstof the women student members to present a paper to theOsler Society. Her subject was "Pioneer Doctor: JohnSebastian Helmcken". On the basis of this essay, she wasawarded the William Osler Medal of the American Asso-ciation for the History of Medicine and her paper waspublished in the Bulletin of the History of Medicine(21: 419-461, 1947). The Editorial Committee of theNewsletter welcomes this opportunity to recall HonorKidd's outstanding achievement as a member of the OslerSociety and to express appreciation of her generousbequest.

ESTABLISHMENTOF A FRIENDS

ENDOWMENT FUND

Following a banner year in which we saw the opening ofthe W. W. Francis Wing, which has so greatly improvedthe facilities of the Library, this year brings together twoimportant events in the history of the Osler Library. Thefirst, by now well-known to readers of the Newsletter, isthe fiftieth anniversary of the Library, celebrated in Maywith a symposium funded in part by the Friends of theOsler Library, and a just-published pictorial tour of thelibrary called The Osler Library. The second event wasthe bequest of $12,500made to the Library by Honor MaryKidd, a long-time member of the Friends of the OslerLibrary.

As a result of this conjunction, the Library's Board ofCurators has decided to establish a FRIENDS ENDOW:-MENT FUND using as its foundation the bequest ofDr. Kidd. In addition the Curators resolved to invite mem-bers of the Friends of the Osler Library and others to con-tribute to this fund. Its first goal would be to match thebequest of Honor Mary Kidd, namely $12,500, thus estab-lishing the FRIENDS ENDOWMENT FUND at $25,000.

When this fund is established, the income from the endow-ment will go towards the printing expenses of the OslerLibrary Newsletter. This in turn would free the yearlydues of the Friends for various special projects in theLibrary, such as the restoration and purchase of books.

With the enclosed green donor slip, therefore, I herewithinvite readers of the Newsletter not only to begin or renewmemberships in the Friends but also to contribute to thenewly established FRIENDS ENDOWMENT FUND.

IL__A(lM (~ Lu Lll h,~"\. /

H. Rocke Robertson, PresidentFriends of the Osler Library

A GIFT FROM THE McGILL SOCIETY

OF THE OTTAWA VALLEY

During the past summer, Dr. H. Rocke Robertson wasthe speaker at a meeting of the McGill Society of theOttawa Valley. Towards the close of the meeting, Mrs.Beryl Corber, the Society's President, announced that, asan expression of thanks, a presentation was to be made toDr. Robertson. To his delight, the presentation proved tobe a donation of five hundred dollars to the Osler Library.This generous and thoughtful gift has been deposited inthe newly created Friends Endowment Fund.

- --

OSLER LIBRARY FIFTIETH

ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM

Over one hundred people gathered at McGill Universityto attend the Osler Library's fiftieth anniversary sympo-sium "Books, Manuscripts, and the History of Medicine"on May 29th last. The intent of the symposium was toexamine in what ways bibliography, the history of med-icine, and librarianship, still share common ground afterfifty or so years of rapid development. Lloyd G. Stevensonof The Johns Hopkins University moderated the day'sevents.

Charles G. Roland of McMaster University delivered thefirst paper, " 'Dry, Dusty, Tedious, Accursed, HatefulBibliography': Osler and British Bibliography". Aftersurveying Osler's bibliographical activities, ProfessorRoland concluded that Osler's technical achievementswere small and that his influence on subsequent biblio-graphical research was minimal. -However, he had "theability to identify problems, to identify problem solvers,and to bring them together in a way that was productivein a remarkably high proportion of cases".

Richard J. Durling (Institut (ur Geschichte der Medizinund Pharmazie der Christian-Albrechts Universit'at, Kiel)delivered the second paper, "Medico-Historical Researchin Mediaeval and Renaissance Manuscripts", a survey oftwentieth-century research in the field. After describingthe means, chiefly published library and subject cataloguesof manuscripts, whereby scholars locate relevant man-uscripts, he turned to the tools assisting the deciphering ofthe manuscripts, and finally to those processes wherebymediaeval and renaissance manuscripts are collated andturned into critical editions. He concluded by urginghistorians of medicine to synthesize this century's workon mediaeval and renaissance manuscripts into theirhistories of medicine.

Professor Estelle Brodman of St. Louis University wasthe third speaker. She looked at the past and the future ofenumerative bibliography in a paper entitled, "LookingForward into Historical Medical Bibliography". Lookingfirst at the state of medical bibliography before WorldWar I, especially as it reflected the optimism of the time,she then turned to the technical means whereby the twen-tieth-century medical literature may be brought undercontrol. But it is not enough to list and locate every rel-evant citation. There still exists an urgent need for artist-bibliographers "who must select from the total store; whomust identify and study documents; and who must placethem in relation to the milieu from which they emanatedin such a way that they illuminate the subjects discussed".In the afternoon session G. Thomas Tanselle of the JohnSimon Guggenheim Foundation surveyed twentieth-century developments in descriptive and analytical biblio-graphy and in editorial practice. He stressed the need tounderstand that all texts, whether literary or scientific,"are subject to the vicissitudes of the printing process".Indeed, "the very meaning of scientific texts is at stake".For this reason physical bibliography has relevance notonly for collectors and bibliographers but for historiansas well.

Eric J. Freeman of the Wellcome Institute for the Historyof Medicine, London, concluded the symposium by askingthe question: "Medical Historians, Librarians and Biblio-graphers: Will They Ever Meet?" He began by urginghistorians to recognize that books as physical objectstransmit and condition the authority and orthodoxy ofmedical science and practice. Furthermore books are socialartefacts as well, mediating the interaction between sci-entists, practitioners, and patients. As for librarians,Mr. Freeman thought that being custodians of historicalcolleCtions, they should act as mediators between biblio-graphy and history. However, a preoccupation with themanagerial and institutional aspects of their professionhas replaced the exercise of their function as interpreterof the book. He concluded by saying that bibliographicalknowledge and skill should not be seen as an option for thehistorian and librarian but as an essential part of theirwork.

Adding to the festive aspect of the day was the visit ofDr. Alfred White Franklin who brought greetings from theOsler Club of London and then added a wish of his own,"that the Library will continue to be the inspiration tofuture generations of medical students and post-graduatesgiving them a greater understanding of and love for theirart".

PHILIP M. TEIGEN

BETHUNIANA EXHIBIT

The Osler Library plans to mount a major exhibit of itsBethuniana in conjunction with a conference entitled"Bethune: his times and his legacy" marking the 40thanniversary of the death of Dr. Norman Bethune in China.The conference, sponsored by the Bethune Foundation,will focus on the significant interests and experiences ofBethune in their historical context and will run fromNovember 16-18, 1979.Further information regarding theconference may be obtained from the Bethune Secretariat,772 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A IG I.The exhibit will be in the Osler Library in the McIntyreMedical Sciences Building of McGill University.

GREETINGS TO THE OSLER LIBRARY ON ITS

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY, MAY 29, 1979

From Mrs. J.A.F. Stevenson, London, Ontario:Greetings to Sir William Osler, his library, and his friends.

From Mr. Geoffrey Pendrill, Universityof WesternOntario:Congratulations on your first fifty.

From the Bodleian Library, Oxford, England:Warmest congratulations and best wishes for your secondhalf century from the Bodleian Library. Robert Schackle"ton,Bodley's Librarian.

From Dr. A.H.T. Robb-Smith, Oxford, England:Greetings on this historic day. The fall of Constantinople1453. Restoration Day 1660. Julius Pagel born 1851.Osler started bedside teaching in Montreal 1879. OslerLibrary dedicated 1929. Everest climbed 1953.From the Osler Club of London(presented by Dr. Alfred White Franklin at the 50thanniversary Osler Library symposium, May 29th, 1979):The Osler Club of London, which celebrated its ownfiftieth anniversary in April 1978, commissioned me, atits meeting on May 10th last, to bear a message of con-gratulations to you on this great day. I had seen in 1926the beautiful library room at McGill with the shelvesempty and lo.oking hungry. The Osler Club of Londonmet in June 1928in the Library of the "Opens Arms" whereI saw the books. But I, as an interne at Saint Bartholomew's,was unable to come to the dedication meeting in Montrealto see the shelves filled with those books. We did send anilluminated address appropriately bound, recently repro-duced in the Osler Library Newsletter. I wanted to bringsomething similar now; but we spend our skills and ourmoney on computers and microfilms so that there is noone left to do the illuminating and if there were the pricewould be prohibitive. I will therefore just read our simplemessage:

The Osler Club of London sends its greetings and goodwishes on the fiftieth anniversary of the reception of SirWilliam Osler's bequest at McGill University.

Peter Daniel Bill DinningPresident Secretary

Alfred White FranklinCo-founder

FRIENDS OF THE OSLER LIBRARY

During the past fiscal year, the Library was gratified toreceive nearly $5500 in contributions from 280 Friends ofthe Osler Library. Both figures indicate the continuinggrowth of the Friends since its founding seven years ago.

Funds from this year's donations went for a variety ofspecial projects. The first and largest was the printing andmailing of the Newsletter. In addition, contributionssupported in part the Library's fiftieth anniversary sym-posium, described elsewhere in this issue. Finally the con-tributions enabled us to buy a collection of reprints inFrench psychiatry and psychology and a collection ofJapanese medical works. Both have significantly strength-ened our collection.

As the years go by, the Friend's donations become moreand more important to the functioning of the Library.For this reason, we are particularly happy to acknowl-edge their generosity.

1978-79 CONTRIBUTORS TO THE

FRIENDS OF THE OSLER LIBRARY

C.W. AdamsL.J. AdamsJ.H. AndersonJ.A.S. Andras

tK.B. Andras*G.F. BaconH.C. BailonS. Bailon

*J.A BarondessR. BarrR.P. BatchelorD.G. Bates,W. Baumgarten, Jr.

*W.B. BeanW.K. BeattyJ. Beaudoin

* E. De BellaigueB. BenardP. BenjaminE.H. BensleyW.L. BirkettZ. BlazinaF. Bloch

tS.W. BooneJ.E. BouldingF.M. Bourne

*F. BraunJ. S.L. BrowneW. Brueggemann

*H. BurchellJ.W. Butin

tCanadian Medical AssociationF. CanteroE.T. CarlsonTW. ChallisB. Charles

*L.P. ChesneytS.W. ChiassontW.R Chung

J.J.P. ClelandJ.A. CliftonJ. Cohen

*G.A. ColeD.L. CollinsR.V. Colpitts

*D. Cordell*R.F.P. Cronin

D.S. CrowR.A. CurrieL. Dabich

tDanish Osler Clube.S. DavidsonD. Davidson

*F.A. DavisR. DavisE. DesjardinsN. DeweyJ. DiGaspariJ.R. Digby

p. Dinere.E. DolmanA.M. DonovanW.R. DorseyD.E. Douglas

*K.N. DrummondI.N. Dubin

*F.E. Dugdalee. DunleavyP.G. DymentP. Eibel

tN. EnzertWo Feindel*e. Ferencz

e. T FloydJ.S.C. Fong

R.A ForseR.R. ForseyF. Forster

*R.A FortuineT. FrancisT.E. FrancoeurM.D.E. Fraser

tS.O. Freedman*N.H. Friedman*L.P. Fulton

P.H. FutcherW.R Fye

*L. GalesJ.M. Gawoski

tW.C. GibsonG.E. Gifford, Jr.

tS.A. GillespieP. GloorP. GoldR.L. GoldenJ.T. GoodrichW.E. GoodwinR. Guest-Gornall

tW.F. GoughB.F. GrahamJ.D.F. GrahamP. GrunerF.N. GurdG. HainesM. HallowitzE.O. Hampson

*J. HanawayW.D. HankinsP. HanssenG.T. Harrell

*H.A. HeggtveitL. HerzbergJ.W. Hickman

*S. Hinohara*History of McGill Project

F.J. Hogg*R.P. HowardtG. Huber

D.e. HulltK.G. Huston

80 Hyams*R.W. Hyde

Institut (ur Geschichte der MedizinM. Ivey, Jr.S. JarchoJohns Hopkins Universitye.H. JohnstonO.N. JonesW.F. JonesE.D. JosephA. KelenM.F. Kelen

*S.P. KenningTE. KeysD.G. KinnearN.B. KowalskyW.K. LaneD.G. LawrenceC.P. LeblondS. LeBlondJ.R. Lee

*S.S. LeeJ. Levitan

*J.A. Lewise. LimogesLister Hill Library

*80 Little*L.D. Longo

F. LowyE. Lozinski

V. Lui*M.H. Macdonald

J .E. MacDonellD. MacEwan

*K.T. MacFarlanetJ.P. McGovern

L.e. McHenry, Jr.F.e. MacIntosh80 McKinlay

tC.D. MacLeantD.A. MacLennan*J.W. MacLeod

H.E. MacMahonR.E. McMahon

*F.L. McNaughtonW. McShane

tE.L. MargettsJ.J. MassarelliE.F. MauerW. d'A. MaycockMayo Clinic PeriodicalsF.A. Meier

tC.D. MerkelM.J. MessingerE. Meyerhoff

*M.W. MillerH. Minasian

* R.E. MitchellR. MoesR. Moon

*J.R. MooretH.G. Morgan*J.F. Muirhead

R.S. Mumford*S.R Murphy

M. Nathanson*E.F. Nation

A.R. NeghmeA. NichollsF.T. O'Brien

*R.T.O'KellP.D. Olch

*P.F. OslerD.M. O'SullivanH.OxornG.K. ParkeW.D. ParsonsA.R. Patterson

*A.S. Peck*R.Z. Perkins*I.J. Pincus*J.D.E. Price

R.H. PrinceL.J. Quinn

*R.W. QuinnS.X. RadbillH. RakatanskyA.V. RaoH.A. RaphaelM. Reveree. RobertN.J. RobertK.R Roberts

tH.R. RobertsonRH. RobinowA.E. RodinF.R Rogers

*e.G. RolandH.J. RosenS. Rosenberge. RosenhekN.P. RosmanM.K. RusselM.H. SaffronE.P. Scarlett

R. Schlaeger*J.B. ScrivertH.N. Segall

P. SekeljN. Shaftel

*H. SheldonR.T Shields, Jr.J.L. ShugarS.A. SiegalE.E. SimpsonR.R. SmalleyAJ. Smith

*E.K. SmithK.e. Smith

*T.L. Sourkes*W.R Spaulding*H. Starkey*R.A. Starrs

W.G. SteinJ.A.F. Stevenson (in memoriam)

t J. StratfordR.R. StruthersF.M. SwaineH.L. TanenbaumW.A. TaylorP.M. Teigen

*M. TerrinB.E. Thomas

*W.D. TigerttR.C. TilghmanS.R. TownsendW.W. TuckerB.R. TunisUniversity of California LibraryS. Wachter'G.e. WalshO.H. WangensteenJ.F. WebbJ.W. WeryhoW.A. Whitelaw

*F.M. WiegandRR. WilcoxL.D. WilcoxWilliam Boyd LibraryH. Williams

*H.R WilliamsJ.W. WilsonW.K. Kellogg Health Sciences LibraryWoodward Biomedical LibraryE.L. Worthington

tPatron*Supporting Friend