Ask a Librarian

Mystery church: Solved!

Alethea Drexler archives assistant We got a pile of emails about this one, from architectural detectives from who knows how many institutions and organizations. After a lot of wrangling, Lauren at the University of Houston suggested that it might be the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is no longer standing but was located on Texas […]

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The Doctor and the Herb-Woman

By Kiersten Bryant, archives metadata intern The McGovern Collections and Research Center is home to an extensive collection of original artwork published in various journals produced by the Medical Arts Publishing Foundation beginning in the early 1950s. One of these artworks is the cover art for the first issue of Heart Bulletin published for March-April […]

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Medical World News: Conjoined Twins

by Sandra Yates, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian The Medical World News Collection is one of the largest and most interesting in the McGovern Historical Center. Comprised of over 80,000 photographic prints, slides, and negatives, it offers an expansive visual tour of medical advances from 1960-1994. For most, if not all, of the images in […]

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Hanger Artificial Legs and Arms

By Sandra Yates Archivist and Special Collections Librarian We all know how amazing old magazine advertisements are. I found this gem in a June 1938 issue of the Texas State Journal of Medicine. Looks to me that the Hanger artificial limbs are easier to wear than wrapping a robe around a négligée! What do you […]

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Moon-sun man with owl

I love the archives. I found this image today while doing a random check of a box with a lid that was not properly seated. There is no context, no official caption, no indication of why the man and the owl, probably stuffed, are posing together. It was the 60s. Enough said. Philip Montgomery, archivist […]

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Hermann Hospital Sweetheart

by Philip Montgomery, archivist A few months ago, Dr. Adrian Melissinos was searching for nursing photos when she discovered “Sweetheart” the donkey. Today, I had to find the photo of this early Hermann Hospital mascot. I love that the photographer, who remains unknown, made an effort to capture this donkey’s personality.  What is even more […]

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Archival Surprises

by DK Smith, Project Archivist In part, the fascination of an archivist’s job lies in the discovery of bits of lost history hidden in doctors’ papers. For example, the photo below contains a wonderful unknown trophy, faceless major characters, and an obviously emotional scene. What is going on? Five minutes with a loupe, an archivist’s […]

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Pulling Teeth from the Man of Steel

by Philip Montgomery, archivist I want to be perfectly clear at the beginning of this post that being an archivist is a tough job. I can’t even begin to describe the trials that come with being an archivist. You have your dirt, your mold, your sneezing, your cold temperatures, your silverfish, your 50 year-old hypodermics, […]

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