From Techno to Timeless

Nicholas de Larmessin II created the caricature Habit de Medecin circa 1690, illustrating the 17th century French physician carrying the literature of his profession neatly and compactly under his robe — a far cry from the explosion of medical information confronting today’s physicians and medical students. This charming peek into another age is believed to be part of a series of engravings of fanciful costumes of trades and professions by Larmessin, an artisan in a family of engravers, and can be found in the collections of the Rare Book Room in Taubman Medical Library.

In stark contrast to the futuristic electronic resources that dominate Taubman Medical Library today, its Rare Book Room — two rooms, actually, nestled on the library’s fifth floor — holds priceless and fascinating glimpses into medicine’s past.

The front room, open to the public by appointment, contains glass-topped floor display cases, and portraits of prominent donors and of U-M Medical School icon Victor Vaughan. Artifacts on exhibit include an 18th century German collection of small “Dance of Death” figurines, a ceramic bleeding bowl with a semicircular curve in the edge of the bowl where an arm would lay, and a 19th century Italian porcelain anatomical mannequin of an expectant mother.

Beyond the public room is a smaller one. This deeper recess, off limits to browsers, is where early books and journals are stored on floor-to-ceiling shelves. To safeguard the collected works, the University Library’s Preservation Division monitors the Rare Book Room’s humidity and temperature via the Internet.

“Nearly everything here has been acquired through the generosity of benefactors,” explains Doreen Bradley, former interim director of Taubman, walking down narrow aisles of thickly-bound books. “Dr. LeRoy Crummer and his wife gave the library their collection of books and artifacts, and they specified that their ashes be kept with the collection.” A portrait of physician Crummer hangs nearby, along with the small, decorative urns stored high atop a bookcase, containing their ashes.

The Rare Book Room contains early medical works of scholarly significance, pre-1850 original research, and medical classics. Subject coverage is broad with concentrations in early anatomy, surgery, pharmacy, obstetrics and gynecology, American medical literature from the early 1800s, homeopathy, cardiology, pathology and hernia repair. A complete list of the contents is available in the online Mirlyn catalog.

Valued recently for insurance purposes at $13 million, the collection consists of approximately 6,300 monographs (primarily pre-1850 imprints) with titles that date from 1470 to the early 20th century. Also housed in the Rare Book Room are a small collection of journals, illustrations, 82 incunabula, and a collection of 52 “magical” medical amulets. The amulets comprise a joint collection with the Kelsey Museum of Archeology and are a gift of Frederick A. Coller. While the diminutive carved stones and gems are available for viewing at the library, the Taubman Web site captures each in a full-color photograph with explanation. Now a medical curiosity, amulets were once believed to ward off evil spirits. Worn as protective devices around the body, they were common in all societies and all periods of antiquity. Their use was accepted as normal by secular, religious and scientific authorities.

The Rare Book Room serves as a resource for U-M faculty and students, many from non-health sciences departments, as well as scholars from around the world. Its collections are a reminder of how far medicine has come in a relatively short period of time. Meticulously preserved, the historical treasures are a poignant contrast to the ephemeral electronic databases that serve as such efficient transmitters of medical knowledge today.

—JCH