By Philip Montgomery Head of the McGovern Historical Center There is a street named for Ezekiel Cullen that runs past the Texas Medical Center Library. Since, Cullen died in 1882, according to the Handbook of Texas, I wondered why his name is linked to the medical center, which wasn’t founded until the 1940s. The answer […]
Thingamajig: The Mystery Scissors
by Alethea Drexler, archives assistant The past few months have brought us several donations that were heavier on artifacts than they were on paper. That’s a little unusual for an archive but not necessarily a bad thing. Honestly, artifact donations are often very entertaining. The heirs of a Fort Worth-area nurse named Senorita (that was […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Hysteria
by Philip Montgomery Female hysteria is the topic of today’s blog. MJ Figard, archivist and rare book librarian, recently acquired new books for our Rare Book Collection from Howard Rootenberg with B&L Rootenberg. The first is an 1889 two-volume set of essays titled “History of Pathology of Vaccination” edited by Edgar M. Crookshank. The second […]
Moving Mayhem
We were closed last Friday because of a move. Two of our excellent staff members from the Rare Books Room at the Texas Medical Center Library have joined us over at the HRC. Moving is exhausting! […]
The Electreat Mechanical Heart
by Kate Wilson, Archivist In processing the D. H. Rankin Medical Artifacts Collection I have found myself intrigued with the Electreat Mechanical Heart. I’m not really sure what draws me to this object- maybe the fact that we have six of them in the collection or maybe the incredibly illustrated promotional flyer that accompanies the device. […]
And the Sorting Begins!
By Kate Wilson, Archivist The McGovern Historical Collections recently received a collection of early twentieth century medical artifacts. The collector, a family physician in Austin, Texas, had a personal interest in hearing related devices and quack medicine, so most of the objects in the collection can fall into those categories. The first step in processing a collection is organizing […]
Dental Decks
by Philip Montgomery This Dental Deck for the NDB exam appeared at the Texas Medical Center Library’s book drop. Staff on the circulation desk called the McGovern Historical Center and offered us the deck. We snapped it up. It is a curious set of flashcard. In my mind flash cards are something I used in […]