Category: Museum Blog

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A Note from the Library: Dr. Paulus Pfann’s Mysterious Book of Medical Recipes

Published by Sally Monroe. One of the most exciting things about the Thorek Manuscripts and Rare Books Collection is that it contains no shortage of strange and enigmatic books. One of these unusual texts is, according to the inscription on its spine, Pfann’s Receptbuch.[1] Written in both Latin and German in a beautiful, ornate script and dated … Continue reading A Note from the Library: Dr. Paulus Pfann’s Mysterious Book of Medical Recipes

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A Note From the Library: Facial Reconstruction in the 1940s and the Guinea Pig Club

Published by Lorca Jolene.  Tremendous advances in facial reconstructive and plastic surgery occurred during the 1940s due to the sheer number of World War II soldiers who sought treatment for disfiguring injuries that they sustained in combat. At the beginning of the war, surgeons would have prepared for such cases by consulting texts like Samuel … Continue reading A Note From the Library: Facial Reconstruction in the 1940s and the Guinea Pig Club

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Quotes and Marginalia from Inside the Woman Doctor’s Life

The saddest part of the culmination of any research or creative project is realizing how many pieces will be left out of the final whole—whether for reasons of focus, relevancy, or space. Finding books that actually gave voice to the experiences of women in medicine was rare enough, so it is extra difficult to have to choose to elide some from the final work. And so, I’d like to offer a sampling of quotations from inspiring women physicians alongside some peeks into the pages of the books otherwise locked up in the glass cases of the museum library. Continue reading Quotes and Marginalia from Inside the Woman Doctor’s Life