·OSLER·L BRARY·NEWSL TTER· Osler Library of the History of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal (Québec) Canada

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NUMBER 106 · 2006

THE

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IN THIS ISSUE THE STORY OF OSLER’S FIRST FOUR ARABIC

MANUSCRIPT ACQUISITIONS

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DR. ANAND DATE HAS HADa long-time interest in Sir WilliamOsler, among other publicationshaving published excerpts ofOsler’s letters to Grace during histrip to Egypt, (OLN no. 74) workthat included transcribing the let-ters in their entirety. In this leadarticle, Dr. Date carries out pains-taking detective work, bringing tolight new information about howand from whom Osler acquiredhis first Arabic manuscripts. In sodoing he reveals Lady Osler’s rolein our acquisition of the famousherbal by the 12th centuryAndalusian herbalist and botanistAbu Dja’far Ahmad al Ghafiqi.

Dr. Date is Professor of Patho-logy and Head of the Departmentof Pathology at Sultan Al QaboosUniversity in Oman.

In addition, this issue brings youour annual report and appeal, anda special seasonal greeting fromWilliam Osler, recently purchasedby the Osler Library. �

William Osler becameinterested in acquiringArabic medical manu-

scripts for his library towards theend of 1910, when he was RegiusProfessor of Medicine in Oxford.Harvey Cushing describes [1] howthis interest developed as follows:“His November 25th entry – thecold room at the Examiners’ meet-ing, which put him to bed for aweek….But, even when laid upwith bronchitis, pleasant thingsmay happen to pass the time; andBodley’s (then) sub-librarian [2]

saw fit to inoculate him with adesire for some ancient manu-scripts which ultimately foundtheir way into his library andserved, furthermore, to introducehim to a Dr. Sa’eed of Teheran,Persia.” [3] Cushing’s commentimplies, though it does not expli-citly state, that the manuscriptswere purchased from Dr M.Sa’eed, who became Osler’s friendand from whom he later acquiredmany more Arabic manuscripts.The manuscripts mentioned in-cluded an Arabic translation of awork of Dioscorides [4] and an-other volume wrongly identifiedas also being by Dioscorides.

Subsequent commentators includ-ing Ellen Wells, in her excellentstudy of Osler’s book purchases [5];Charlotte Gray, in her fine de-scription of the Osler Library [6];Adam Gacek, in his masterful sur-vey of Arabic manuscripts at

McGill University [7]; and eventhe beautiful Osler Library book-let [8]; follow Cushing, and statequite categorically, that the manu-scripts were purchased fromSa’eed.

It would therefore, be reasonableto expect, the correspondencebetween Sa’eed and Osler to be-gin with letters concerning these

B.O. 463Avicenna.Kanun. Book I

byDr. Anand Date

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…it is clearthat Osler’spurchase ofthe firstArabicmanuscriptsfor hislibrarypreceded hiscorrespondencewith Sa’eed.

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manuscripts. But when their let-ters are assembled and examinedin chronological order, it is clearthat Osler’s purchase of the firstArabic manuscripts for his librarypreceded his correspondencewith Sa’eed. The vendor musttherefore have been another, asyet unidentified Persian. The rea-son why Cushing presumed thatthe MSS had come from Sa’eed –‘Cushing’s curious Persian puzzle’as I have termed it earlier [9], be-comes clear when the intertwinedstrands of events concerningOsler’s early purchases of ArabicMSS are unravelled and exam-ined.Continuing the story, Cushingthen quotes with minor altera-tions, the letter from Osler to thesub-librarian Dr Cowley, given inits original form, below:

————Dec. 1st (in Bed!)

13, Norham Gardens.Dear Cowley [10],Luke IV. 8 ! [11] Is not this Decem-ber, the leanest month of the year?Are not the times very hard? Is notthe voice of Ll—— G—— heardin the land? [12] Is this, think you atime for MSS? What a heartlessbrute to mention them! But – I dolove Dioscorides – even inArabic! Did he not ‘peep &botanize’[13] up & down theThames valley? Is he not said tohave gathered Digitalis where theRadcliffe Camera (or the Infir-mary) now stands? [14] Conside-ring these things I would like tosee the MS. – but I am in bed, witha mild Bronchitis. Could you sendit to me by my fraülein & say ifyou think it a good example of anArabic MS, & also if the price (theDecember price!) asked by theson of the Prophet is reasonable.Yours sincerelyW Osler

————Presumably Grace Osler carriedthe note to Cowley who seems tohave written a hurried reply, ab-

breviating many words, and gaveit to her with the MSS for Osler.

————1.12.10

Dear Dr Osler [15],The MS is a very good specimenof Arabic writing – especially vol.I, but the pictures make it spe-cially valuable. The Arabs did notrun to such things much. The por-trait of Dioscorides himself hasbeen partly erased by a piousowner (as being idolatrous) & thenrestored, with the halo turned intoa turban – So typical of modernprogress!The vols. belong to a Persian, theyhave been brought to England bya man (New College) who wasBrit. Consul in Shîrâz. [16] He hasoffered them, on behalf of thePersian, to the Brit: Mus: whohave named a price. He has nottold me what it is. I think £ 20 wdbe cheap – & it is what I shd offerif I cd – but I shd hardly expect toget it for that.I am very sorry to hear that youare laid up – but I don’t wonder. Ihope the sight of your ancientpredecessor will really do yougood.Will you let me have him back inthe morning?Yours sincerelyA Cowley

————Two brief notes from Osler toCowley follow, possibly on thesame day; the hand-written dateis difficult to decipher.

————13 Norham Gardens

Dear Cowley [17]

Excellent text book! just the workfor the Mat. Medica class. If youcan get it for anything under £ 20.,the price named by my fraülein, Iwill take it – and chip the house-hold bills.Yours sincerelyWm Osler

————13 Norham Gardens

Dear Cowley [18]

It would be interesting to see ifthe pictures have any resemblanceto those of the famous WienDioscorides, which has arabicglosses. [19] Offer £ 20 – if refused,I might go a bit higher – and taketo porridge for a monthYoursWm Osler

————Osler’s offer was not accepted butsome two months later, anotherletter about the MSS was re-ceived.

————Burbush,

Burley,Hants.

24/2/11Dear Mr Cowley [20]

I took the Arabic MS. to Cam-bridge, and subsequently toQuaritch, [21] who refused to con-sider the matter unless I couldquote him a definite price. Notbeing empowered to do this, andknowing that the owner’s expec-tations were rather exalted, Iwrote to our Consul at Shiraz ask-ing him to get a definite price limitfixed. I ought by now to have hada reply, and as my accounts fromthat part of the world are verybad, [22] I am rather afraid that itor my letter may have miscarried.But I will certainly let you knowbefore deciding anything.Yours sincerely,J H Bill

————From the Regius Professor of

Medicine, Oxford13 Norham Gardens

November 2nd [1911]Dear ‘Diascorides,’[sic] [23]

Have you the address of the manwho has that manuscript? If so,please give it to my secretary.

Sincerely yoursWm Osler

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Osler apparently wrote to Bill of-fering £ 25 for the MSS, and inthe New Year, Bill wrote toCowley accepting the offer.

————Bodleian library

Oxford27-1-1912

My dear Professor, [24]

The enclosed has just come. I amso glad you will now be able tocarry out your generous intentionof presenting Dioscorides toBodley [25].The rather illegible signature ismeant to represent ‘J. H. Bill.’As to Syriac medicine, I see thereis a short, but good, account inDuval’s history of Syr. Lit. [26] I willkeep the book in my study for afew days, in case you like to lookat it.Yours sincerelyA. CowleyWill you let me know if you donot wish to buy?

————Enclosed was Bill’s letter of ac-ceptance of the price offered. [27]

————British Residency[28]

BushirePersia

7 / 1 / 11 [sic12, ref 29]

Dear Dr CowleyDo you remember the two Ara-bic MSS I brought you last year,for which Prof. Osler was willingto go to £ 25? I have now com-municated with the owner, whosadly accepts. Please let me knowwhether the offer holds good; ifso I will send the books. They canbe paid for by cheque on the Im-perial Bank of Persia. It wouldprobably be simpler to make it outto me.Yours sincerelyJ H Bill I.C.S. [30] P.S. Please putvia Bombay on your envelope,also a 2 1/2 d stamp.

————Osler added the following note atthe top of this letter: “Sent Feb 1st

1912 received in about 3 mos.”Shortly after sending the pay-ment, Osler would have received

another letter about Arabic MSS,which introduces two new drama-tis personae to this story, Dr. A.R.Neligan and Dr. Mirza Sa’eed.

————62, Park Lane,

Croydon.February 25 1912.

Dear Sir, [31]

My friend & teacher Dr.Garrod[32] tells me that you areanxious to obtain 1. an old manu-script of Avicenna’s [33] works 2. amodern edition of his poems 3. aphotograph of his tomb.

With regard to 1. & 2. I shall bevery pleased to do my best to ob-tain the books for you – and willask some of my native friends atTehran to look out for a really oldcopy of Avicennas writings. I un-derstand that you are willing topay from £20-£30 for it.

As to the photograph I am ableto send you two – for I was atHamadan myself in the summerof 1910 – and got an excellentflash light photograph of the

tomb inside the little mausoleum– as well as photographs of theoutside of the latter.

I am not returning to Tehranuntil the autumn. If you havetherefore anything to add to whatDr. Garrod has told me I shall beglad to hear it. It will be a pleas-ure to help you to obtain what youwish for.

I amYours very truly

A. R. NeliganP.S. I take it that the modern edi-tion of the Poems is to be in na-tive characters. A.R.N.

————Osler’s reply does not survive, buttwo months later Neligan writesagain:

————62, Park Lane,

Croydon.April 29,1912

Dear Professor Osler, [34]

I have just received the accom-panying book from Tehran. It is acopy of Avicenna’s “Qanoon” or

B.O. 478 Avicenna. Kitab al-isarat

Do youremember thetwo ArabicMSS Ibrought youlast year, forwhich Prof.Osler waswilling to goto £ 25? Ihave nowcommunicatedwith theowner, whosadlyaccepts.

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System of Medicine literally“Rule”. It is said by experts inTehran to be 5-600 years old. It isperfect but for the fact that a fewleaves have been rewritten in abad hand. Lithograph copies weremade as recently as 45 years ago– and it was (and is no doubt bysome) considered as an excellentbook of reference for students andpractitioners in Turkey, Arabiaand India as well as in Persia. Ofcourse you will submit it to theexperts at Oxford. I took it toshow to Professor Browne [35] af-ter his lecture on Persian Litera-ture but unfortunately he was be-sieged by people and I had only afew words with him. There is ofcourse the big “Qanoon” ofAvicenna in five volumes. If youdo not care for this smaller work– I will ask my native friend tolook out for the bigger – but ofcourse it would be difficult andtake time to find all five volumes.He is on the look [sic] for thepoems. The price is £3-15. A Eu-ropean buyer would of coursehave to pay more if he had donethe bargaining.

I shall not fail to avail myself ofyour invitation when I am next atOxford.

Believe me,Yours v. truly,

A. R. NELIGAN.

————That these manuscripts had beenreceived within a short time ofeach other; had come from thesame country, Persia; and throughintermediaries, both of whomwere British officials on furloughin England, confused Cushinginto believing that they camefrom the same source.

It was more than a year later thatOsler received his first letter fromSa’eed:

————Hamadan,

Persia.July 17, 1913.

To Sir William Osler, [36]

Dear Sir,Dr. Neligan wrote me that you

liked the Kanoun of the Avicennawhich I procured for you while Iwas in Teheran. Since my returnto my old haunts I have beensearching to find something wor-thy of you. I obtained at the houseof an old physician & philosopherwhose family had had great repu-tations as men of learning, an oldMS which is remarkably well pre-served and the notes in it provesthat it has been well studied bymany. I hope you will graciouslyaccept it from me, as a token ofmy indebtedness to your teach-

ings in your Principle [sic] andPractice of Medicine, which hasbeen my companion & help since1895. [37]

Dr. Neligan also mentionedyour desire to have the Avicenna’spoetical works. What remains ofhim in this line are scattered here& there, and I am trying to collectas much as possible. I came acrossa MS of his Arabic lines onHygein [sic] (hygiene) and treat-ment, which I believe, judging bythe learned professor Browne’sworks, has not found its way yetinto Europe, it is being copied foryou.

The gentleman who owned thepresent vol of Ishârât pointed outto me a building not far from theAvicenna’s grave, “a house wasstanding here which belonged tothe Avicenna where he dwelt, itwas standing in the lifetime of mygrandfather.”

I remain,Dear Sir,Ever your grateful servant,

M. SA’EED————

From the Regius Professor ofMedicine, Oxford

1st August 1913Dear Dr. Sa’eed: [38]

It is exceedingly kind in you tosend me that beautiful Avicennamanuscript. I have just shown itto Mr. Cowley at the Bodleian,who is delighted with it, and saysit is in an unusually good state ofpreservation. Let me know, please,at any time, of others that may beoffered for sale, and I would par-ticularly like a manuscript ofAvicenna’s poems. Mr. Cowleytells me that he thinks modernvolumns of his poems have beenissued. I would like very much ifyou could have some one take agood photograph of the tomb ofAvicenna, and send me a memo-randum of the cost. I am inter-ested also in Rhazes.

How long shall you by stayingin Hamadan? I should like to sendAvicenna’s tomb in Persia Past and Present, by

A.V.W. Jackson, New York 1906, taken by the author

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…if the“Dioscoridesmanuscripts”had passedthroughSa’eed’shands thesewould havebeen correctlyidentified…

you a copy of the new edition ofmy text-book (1912).

Sincerely yours,Wm Osler

————The letters quoted above areclearly the beginning of the cor-respondence between Sa’eed andOsler and occur two years afterthe “Dioscorides MSS” werebrought to Oxford for sale.Dioscorides is not mentioned butinstead the Kanun that Sa’eed sentto Neligan, for Osler, is men-tioned. Nor is Dioscorides men-tioned anywhere in their corres-pondence which continued tillOsler’s death, or the subsequentletters that Sa’eed wrote to thewidowed Lady Osler, while manyother Arabic manuscripts arementioned. Most importantly, ifthe “Dioscorides manuscripts” hadpassed through Sa’eed’s handsthese would have been correctlyidentified since Sa’eed was wellversed in Arabic and had a pro-found knowledge of Arabic medi-cal manuscripts.

Later that year while on a visit toEngland, Sa’eed accepted Osler’sinvitation to visit 13 NorhamGardens, although no record ofthe visit has been found. Cushingspeculates that during the visit: “itis certain that all the Arabic MSS.in the Bodleian were got out forinspection and there was muchtalk about Avicenna. ” [39] If thisdid happen and Osler had shownSa’eed the “Dioscorides MS” thetime available may not have beensufficient for Sa’eed to make adetailed examination that wouldhave revealed its true nature.Cowley’s failure to identify themanuscripts correctly was alsoprobably due to lack of time. Butafter Osler’s death, when he washelping to catalogue Osler’smanuscripts in 1920 he realisedwhat he had missed earlier,namely that only one of themanuscripts in question was ofDioscorides, and the other was arare and precious al-Ghafiki. [40]

Cowley’s scholarship allowedFrancis to retain the latter for theOsler Library, while transferringonly the former to the Bodleian,as directed by Osler’s bequest.WW Francis’s side of the storyconcerning the al-Ghafiki MS isrelated in letters that he wrotemany years later, to MaxMeyerhof an historian of ArabicMedicine. [41]

————24 September, 1937

Dr. Max MeyerhofSharia Fuad El-Auwal,Cairo, Egypt

Dear Dr. Meyerhof: [42]

… [The Al-Ghafiki manuscript]was bought from a Persian whosent it to Oxford 1912 as one oftwo volumes of an illustratedArabic Dioscorides, and it was notidentified as Al-G.’s work until1920, after Osler’s death, whenCowley of the Bodleian cata-logued it for us…..owing to therarity of illustrated copies ofDioscorides in Arabic, Osler leftit to the Bodleian. Since the com-panion volume was not D.’s, but

B.O. 7508al-Ghafiki Onsimples

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…he realisedwhat he hadmissed earlier,namely thatonly one ofthemanuscriptsin questionwas ofDioscorides,and the otherwas a rareand preciousal-Ghafiki.

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al-G.’s, I succeeded in retaining it(no. 7508) for the Osler Library.

Yours sincerelyW. W. Francis, M.D.,

Librarian————

8 February, 1938Dr. M. Meyerhof,9 Sharia Fuad 1,Cairo, Egypt

Dear Dr. Meyerhof [43]

… I have always had a fondnessfor that Ghafiki MS. and am verygratified to learn that it has somuch more importance than wesuspected. It nearly went to theBodleian Library with theDioscorides, but after Osler’sdeath, when we discovered thatthis volume was not Dioscorides,I had a friendly debate withBodley’s librarian as to whether Icould conscientiously keep thisone for the Osler Library, andLady Osler decided in my favour.

With kind regards,Sincerely yours,

W.W.F.—————

We wonder how “friendly” thedebate was. When the Dios-corides MS was delivered toCowley, he made an unsuccessfulattempt to get the al-Ghafiki aswell. Did Cowley ever regret hisscholarship?

————Bodleian Library

Oxford25.8.1926

Dear Lady Osler, [44]

Please accept my best thanks forsending to this Library the volumeof the Arabic Dioscorides – It isinteresting in itself & a valuableaddition to our collections, but Iam specially glad to have it hereas a memorial of Sir William – Iremember so well the circum-stances of our getting this & theother volume, & how delighted hewas with them.

I hope you will not think meungracious if I say that I feel quitesure Sir William meant both vol-

umes to come to the Bodleian –We negotiated the purchase asone work, not knowing that thesecond volume was notDioscorides. & we always referredto the two volumes under thatname – The other volume wd bein very suitable company if youdecide to send it to us.With many thanks again, believemeYours very sincerelyA.Cowley

—————Bodleian Library

Oxford8.9.26

Dear Lady Osler, [45]

Thank you for your note. I oughtperhaps not to have mentionedthe other volume – but it seemedto me a pity to separate the two,as they complete one another.However we are very grateful forwhat you have sent us.Yours very sincerelyA.Cowley.

—————The Bibliotheca Osleriana notes re-garding the origin of these manu-scripts bring this story to an end.The Dioscorides (346) is recordedas having been “procured fromPersia” and the al-Ghafiki (7508)as coming “from a Persian.” Thenotes for the Kanun (403) men-tion “Dr. Neligan, through whomthe MS, was bought from Persia.”and for the Isharat (478) “the do-nor, Dr. M. Sa’eed” is acknow-ledged. �

Notes1. Cushing H: The Life of Sir William

Osler vol. ii, London, Oxford Uni-versity Press, 1925, 255-256.

2. Dr Arthur Ernest Cowley (1861-1931) Scholar in modern MiddleEastern languages and ancient onessuch as early Hebrew and Aramaicthat predated Arabic. He was anauthority on the Samaritans andHittites. In 1899 he become sub-librarian at the Bodleian, and in1919 the Bodleian Librarian. Hedied on October 13, 1931. TheTimes obituary mentions that he had

been “Knighted in the BirthdayHonours of last June”

3. Mirza Sa’eed Kurdistani (1863-1945) was a Kurd from northwest-ern Iran, or Persia as Europeans atthat time preferred to call it. Heconverted to Christianity and waslater trained informally in westernmedicine by medical missionaries.Even before his contacts with Oslerbegan, he stayed on two occasionsin England updating his medicalknowledge and training in ophthal-mology. He resided most fre-quently in Hamadan and Tehran,where he was renowned for hisskills as a physician.

4. Dioscorides (AD 40 – c90) alsoknown as Pedianos Dioscorides ofAnazarbus. A Greek surgeon aboutwhom little is known although hewas thought to have served as amedical officer in the Roman Army.He compiled the first herbal inwhich he described 600 plants and35 animal products. Although writ-ten in Greek it is usually known asDe materia Medica (its Latin title).The Bibliotheca Osleriana entry is asfollows: “BO 346 Dioscorides. MS.in Arabic, on oriental paper: illus-trated: written in 637 A.H. [=1239A.D.]: 9 3/4 x 6 3/4 in., v + 211leaves. 3rd Makala (i.e. ‘Discourse’,book) of Dioscorides in Arabictranslation made (? in Spain) byStephanus ibn Masail; copied atBagdad by Al-Hasan ibn Ahmadibn Muhammad al-Nasawi. Thewriting is very good; there are nu-merous coloured drawings ofplants (a number rather rubbed),and a portrait of Dioscorides(partly erased and then restored,with the halo turned into a turban)on fol. 2v.” (Bibliotheca Osleriana: ACatalogue of Books Illustrating the His-tory of Medicine and Science Collected,Arranged and Annotated by Sir WilliamOsler, Bt. And Bequeathed to McGillUniversity. Editors: W. W. Francis(Librarian, Osler Library), R. H.Hill (Bodleian Library), ArchibaldMalloch (Librarian, New YorkAcademy of Medicine) Oxford atthe Clarendon Press 1929.

5. Wells EB: Books for theBibliotheca: A study of Sir WilliamOsler’s Book Bills. Osler LibraryNewsletter 1977, No. 26, 1-4 (p 3)Montreal: Osler Library, McGillUniversity. Ellen Wells, the found-

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ing editor of the Osler Library News-letter.

6. Gray C: The Osler Library: A col-lection that represents the mind ofits collector. Canadian Medical Asso-ciation Journal. 1978; 119: 1442 –1445. (p 1443)

7. Gacek A. Arabic calligraphy andthe “Herbal” of al-Ghafiqi: A sur-vey of Arabic manuscripts atMcGill University. Fontanus 1989;ii: 37-53 (p 53, note 8)

8. The Osler Library. McGill Univer-sity, Montreal, 1979, p 35.

9. “Cushing’s Curious Persian Puzzleor the Adventure of the MissingPersian” Presentation at the 35th

Annual Meeting of the AmericanOsler Society, Pasadena, CA. April11, 2005.

10. Osler to Cowley 1-12-1910Bodleian Library Records, d. 351,folios 272-273.

11. “Get thee behind me, Satan”12. Not: ‘The Lord thy God,’ but

Lloyd George the Chancellor ofthe Exchequer who had just begunto impose a series of new taxes.

13. “Physician art thou? – one, alleyes, / Philosopher! – a fingeringslave, / One that would peep andbotanize / Upon his mother’sgrave” from: A Poet’s Epitaph byWilliam Wordsworth.

14. This is not as it first seems - en-tirely an example of Oslerianwhimsy: Dioscorides did travelextensively with the Roman le-gions while making observationsfor his Materia Medica and four Ro-man legions were stationed at thattime in southern Britain where thefoxglove grew.

15. Cowley to Osler 1-12-1910,Bodleian Library Letters with MSArab d. 138.

16. This was Mr John Hugo HepburnBill I.C.S.; Wellington College1891-5; B.A. New College, Ox-ford; entered Indian Civil Service1900; from 1906 was posted to thePolitical Department that dealtwith the semi-autonomous IndianStates. He was posted from July30th 1906 as Assistant to the Po-litical Resident, Persian Gulf atBushire, where the native rulerswere also in the orbit of the IndianPolitical Department. Next, he wasdeputed to act as British Consul atShiraz from 30th April 1908 to 4th

April 1910. And from: 21st July

1910 to 17th Nov 1911 he was onfurlough in the U.K.

17. Bodleian Library Records, d. 351,folio 271.

18. Bodleian Library Records, d. 351,folio 270.

19. Osler described this manuscriptas follows: “From Byzantium wehave the earliest known completemedical manuscript, dating fromthe sixth century – a work ofDioscorides – one of the mostbeautiful in existence. It was pre-pared in the fifth century for AniciaJuliana, daughter of the Emperorof the East, and is now one of thegreat treasures of the Imperial Li-brary at Vienna.” (Osler W., TheEvolution of Modern Medicine, NewHaven, Yale University Press,1921, p 91.)

20. Bill to Cowley 24-2-1911.Bodleian Library Records, d. 352,folio 19.

21. Bernard Alfred Quaritch, London,son of antiquarian booksellerBernard Quaritch, who foundedthe firm in 1847.

22. Bill’s description of the conditionsin the yearly Administration Report ofthe Persian Gulf Political Residencystates: “In fact, the old theatricaldirection “Confused noise without”is the most adequate expression tothe effect produced on a studentof Shiraz politics during this trou-bled year.” (April 1st 1907 – May31st 1908, p20) “The history of theperiod (April 1st to December 31st

1908) falls naturally into threeparts which may be entitled respec-tively, Government, Mis-govern-ment and No-government. (p19)”An attack on Mr. Bill as he was

leaving on furlough, and probablycarrying the manuscripts, is de-scribed in the report for the year1910 (p4): “Mr. J. H. Bill, I.C.S., ofthe Political Department of India,made over charge of the Consulate[at Shiraz] to Mr. Smart of the Le-vant Consular Service [part of theConsular Service of the British For-eign Office dealing with MiddleEastern countries], on 4th of April.Mr. Smart had arrived from thenorth, via Ispahan, travelling witha strong Sowar [Indian cavalry]escort, which again escorted Mr.Bill back to Tehran. The latter wasattacked between Abadeh andShulgistan by a party of Kuhgelu

[tribesmen], on the 15th of April.Mr. Bill, realising that his caravanwas about to be attacked, deter-mined to try conclusions with theparty while they were yet in anopen country; he and his sowarscame into contact with the robbersand succeeded in putting them toflight. Three of the gang however,having been rounded up, showedfight, and two Indian sowars werekilled in the skirmish which en-sued. Mr. Bill himself fortunatelyescaped unhurt.”

23. Osler to Cowley 2-11-1911.Bodleian Library Records, d. 352,folio 281.

24. Cowley to Osler 27-1-1912.Osler Library Archives P100 SirWilliam Osler Collection Box 103– file “Osler William – Letter –Cowley A.

25. Osler had apparently already toldCowley of his intention to be-queath the Dioscorides MSS. tothe Bodleian Library. This inten-tion is recorded in Appendix II ofthe Bibliotheca Osleriana (op. cit. ref1c. p xxx) that deals with: “Distri-bution of special books to other li-braries… To Bodley – The illus-trated Arab Dioscorides A.D. 1239– which will comfort the heart ofDr. Cowley – one of, I believe, thethree illustrated MSS of this authorin Arabic.”

26. Duval R.: Anciennes LittératuresChrétiennes II La Littérature Syriaque.Paris: Libraire Victor Lecoffre.1899: pp 273 –277.

27. Bill to Cowley 7-1-1911(sic12).Bodleian Library. Letters with MSArab d. 138.

28. Bill is no longer British Consul inShiraz from whence he came withthe manuscripts to England. As re-corded on page 9 of the Administra-tion Report of the Persian Gulf PoliticalResidency for the year 1911: “Mr.J.H.H. Bill, I.C.S., on return fromleave in November, was appointedFirst Assistant Resident” at Bushire,the port from where British gun-boats ruled the Gulf.

29. Obviously a lapse of memory onBill’s part - forgetting that the NewYear had started. In January 1911he was still on furlough in England.

30. Bill always made it a point tomention his status as an IndianCivil Service officer. Page 13 of theAdministration Report of the Persian Gulf

Political Residency for the year 1912carries this note: “Mr. J.H.H. Bill,I.C.S., held the appointment ofFirst Assistant Resident until Julywhen he was transferred to India.”He returned to Persia in Decem-ber 1917 during the “Great War”as First Assistant Resident in thePersian Gulf, and was murdered inIraq by Kurdish insurrectionists inSeptember 1919. (Wilson A.T.:Mesopotamia 1917-1920: a clash of loy-alties. A personal and historical record.London, Oxford University Press,1931, pp152-153.)

31. Holograph from Dr. Neligan toW.O. dated February 25, 1912.Cushing Papers P417, Folder 39.Anthony Richard Neligan, M.D.Lond. 1905, Physician British Le-gation, Tehran, formerly of St.Bartholomew’s and Great OrmondSt. & East London Hospitals forChildren. He went to Tehran in1906, stayed in Persia for 20 years.

32. Garrod, Sir Archibald Edward(1857-1936) British physician andteacher at St Bartholomew’s Hos-pital, London.

33. Avicenna , a Latinized version ofthe name: Abu-Ali al-Husayn ibn-Abd-Allah ibn-Sina. 980-1037 A.D. “The first of the Arabians,known throughout the MiddleAges as The Prince, the rival, in-deed, of Galen, was the Persian IbnSina, better known as Avicenna,one of the greatest names in thehistory of medicine…he is the au-thor of the most famous medicaltext-book ever written. It is safe tosay that the ‘Canon’ was a medicalbible for a longer period than anyother work.” (Osler W, op. cit. ref19 p98.) The name of the book isspelt in different ways e.g.:Qanoun, Qanoon, Kanun etc.

34. The MS is the Bibliotheca Osleriana,No. 463, the entry is as follows:AVICENNA Kanun Book I. In-serted in the MS is a “letter fromDr. Neligan, through whom theMS. was bought in Persia.”

35. Edward Granville Browne (1862– 1926) Professor of Arabic atCambridge where he had gradu-ated MB. Osler considered him tobe the only Arabian scholar in theprofession. (Cushing H, op. cit. ref.1: 377)

36. Enclosed in the copy ofAvicenna’s ‘ISHARAT’ (Hints or

Allusions) with commentaries byRazi. Bib Os. 478: AVICENNAMS. in Arabic, Kitab al-IshârâtThe end flyleaves bear notes and

an inscription by the donor, Dr. M.Sa’eed, and notes by Sir W. Osler.Cushing (ii, op cit., p 368) men-tions the arrival of this book at 13Norham Gardens as a “pleasanthappening” in his record of theevents of July–August 1913.

37. Most probably one of the Britishfirst editions of the book: 1892 or1894.

38. Typed letter from W.O. to Dr.Sa’eed, Teheran, Persia. August 1,1913. Cushing Papers P417, Folder39. Also given in full, in Cushingii, p368 where “[Ishârât]” is insertedafter the word: manuscript.

39. Cushing has incorrectly placedthis in the pages devoted to eventsin September 1913, a month ear-lier than Osler’s letter to Neligan.(Cushing H, op. cit. ref 1, p376-377)

40. Abu Dja’far Ahmad al-Ghafiki,Spanish-Arabic pharmaco-bota-nist, native of the fortress Ghafiknear Cordova. His dates are notknown, but he may have diedaround the middle of the 12th cen-tury. He was considered to be thebest expert on drugs of his time;he elaborated thoroughly the ma-terial transmitted from Dioscoridesand Galen and presented it in aconcise, but apparently completeform in his Kitab al-Adwiya al-mufrada. (The Encyclopaedia of Is-lam (New Edition) vi, s313b)The Bibliotheca Osleriana entry is as

follows:BO 7508. Al-Ghafiki [Abu Jafar

Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ghafiki] –1165. In Arabic on pa-per: written AH 654 i.e. AD 1256:10x7in., iii+284 leaves: illustratedin oriental binding.On Simples, al-adwiya al-

mufrada; by al-Ghafiki, a Spanishphysician; arranged alphabetically.Vol.I (A-K) only. With 367 col-oured drawings of plants and 6 ofanimals. (Osler W, op. cit. ref 4)

41. Max Meyerhof was a GermanJewish physician who practised inEgypt for thirty years. He first vis-ited Egypt in 1900-1901, and sub-sequently decided to practise oph-thalmology there. He did so firstduring the years: 1903 – 1914

when he also studied and re-searched the history of ArabicOphthalmology. His second pe-riod in Egypt was from 1923 till hisdeath in 1945, during which timehis interests broadened to includethe history of Arabic medicine ingeneral. (Johnstone P. editorialpreface in Meyerhof, M: Studies inArabic Medicine, Theory and Prac-tice. Variorum Reprints, London1948. pp ix–xii.)

42. W.W. Francis to Max Meyerhof4-9-1937 (From WW Francis. Cor-respondence, P155, Box 132,“Meyerhof” folder Osler LibraryArchives)

43. W.W. Francis to Max Meyerhof8-2-1938 (ibid.)

44. Cowley to Lady Osler 25-8-1926(Osler Library Archives P100 SirWilliam Osler Collections. Box101, file “Osler, Grace Revere let-ters – Cowley A.”)

45. Cowley to Lady Osler 8-9-1926(ibid.)

AcknowledgementsIt is my pleasure to acknowledgethe kind help of Doris Nicholsonof the Bodleian Library with theDioscorides manuscript and otherrelated bibliographic material,and of her colleague StevenTomlinson for copies of the Osler– Cowley, and Bill – Cowley cor-respondence; the assistance ofDorian Leveque of the British Li-brary, London, and Paul Rich,Professor of International Rela-tions & History at the Universityof the Americas, Puebla, Mexico,in locating material about Mr.J.H.H. Bill; the help of JohnGurney of the Oriental Institute,Oxford with the unpublished E.G.Browne correspondence; the ans-wers Richard Golden provided toquestions about Osler’s Textbook;the unstinting help of PamelaMiller and Lily Szczygiel of theOsler Library, Montreal; and theenthusiastic encouragement ofCharles Ambrose.

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�Hooper portfolios, before and after treatment

Close contactwith thevisitor/researcheroftengeneratesadditions toourcollectionsand ideas forexhibitions.Exhibitionsbring morediscoveries.

two volumes of which were everpublished, had been given to SirWilliam Osler by Dr. Greenfieldof Edinburgh. Osler added themto his collection (B.O. 7574) sug-gesting that some of the finerplates be framed and displayed inthe medical museum. As far as weknow, this never happened andthe plates lay, dirty and badly pro-tected until our recent renovation

that very moment, McGill Uni-versity expressed a wish to ac-knowledge the enormous respectand appreciation of the Univer-sity community for the contribu-tions of Dr. Fuks as Dean of theFaculty of Medicine. Conservingthe Hooper plates seemed a fit-ting recognition of Abe’s dedica-tion to medicine at McGill and ofhis support for the Osler Library.

ANNUAL APPEAL

2006

by Pamela MillerHistory of Medicine Librarian

Agood Library is an on-going seminar, in theOsler Library’s case, one

that lasts for years on end. Re-searchers, Osler family members,clinicians, students, professors,staff and international conferenceattendees all bring their particu-lar perspective to our collections.When they leave, we hope thatthey have found new knowledgeand even inspiration from our col-lections and projects. They in turninvariably bring fresh ideas to theLibrary through their enthusiasmfor their work. Close contact withthe visitor/researcher often gen-erates additions to our collectionsand ideas for exhibitions. Exhibi-tions bring more discoveries. Thisyear two outstanding exhibitionsprove the point.

Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, as re-ported in the last Newsletter, no.105, produced a magnificent dis-play entitled The History of Neuro-Oncology, using books selectedfrom our collection as well asmany from his own collection. Inaddition he produced a superblyillustrated catalogue, writing thetext and choosing the illustra-tions, given to delegates to theCanadian Congress of Neurologylast June. The stunning volume,bearing the same title as the exhi-bition, is on display and for sale,in the Osler Library ($20, pleasevisit http://www.mcgill.ca/osler-library/about/introduction/sales/).There was an unexpected bonusfor the Osler to Dr. Del Maestro’sresearch. One of the works heselected was Robert Hooper’s TheMorbid Anatomy of the Human Brain

published in London in 1828,plate XIII entitled “Encysted Tu-mour of the Brain” appearing onthe cover of the book. We recalledthat six volumes of plates, only

when they were placed (stillgrubby and somewhat frayed) instronger boxes. Dr. Del Maestrochose one plate for display but bythe sheerest of coincidences, at

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Dr. Fraserdiscovered adraft ofMaudeAbbott’s letterof applicationto McGill’sFaculty ofMedicine…

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sence here meant that she couldevaluate the condition of theplates and begin work immedi-ately. As a result of the Universi-ty’s imaginative and generous ini-tiative, we now have the worksbeautifully restored, housed andeasily accessible for study. Theworks consist of Hoopers’ manu-script notes, and the lithographsin every state from watercolour tofinal production. In describing theillustrations found in The MorbidAnatomy of the Human Brain, Hooperattests to the accuracy of thedrawing and the faithfulness ofthe colouring so that those whodo not have the opportunity ofseeing diseased parts, may learnabout them. According to the au-thor, no expense was spared.Hooper is known to have had alucrative practice in London andfor his collection of specimensacquired for his students to study.Osler noted that Hooper pub-lished a number of text-books andthat The Morbid Anatomy of the Hu-man Uterus published in 1832 wasthe only other volume of our col-lection of plates that was everpublished. The Alimentary Sys-

Following Dr. Del Maestro’s ex-hibition, Dr. Richard Fraser pro-duced a display entitled, WilliamOsler and the Pathologic Specimen:McGill University – Montreal GeneralHospital 1870-1884. This too, wasmounted in conjunction with acongress being held in Montreal,the International Academy of Pa-thology at which 2,600 delegateswere registered for the celebrationof their 100th anniversary, MaudeAbbott being one of the found-ers. In addition to the above ex-hibition held at the Osler, Dr.Fraser produced a larger exhibi-tion at the conference centre inthe Palais des Congrès using 150specimens from McGill’s patho-logy collection. Four of MaudeAbbott’s posters on congenitalcardiac disease, which she dis-played on four separate occasionsincluding the 1932 meeting of theBritish Medical Association inLondon, were chosen for the dis-play. This involved conserving theposters, the cost being shared be-tween the Osler and the exhibi-tion. The posters were conservedin such a way as to be easily storedonce the conference ended some-

1936 Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Dis-ease, McGill-Queen’s UniversityPress 2006 (and serving as localarrangements chairman of thecentennial anniversary congressof the IAP) Dr. Fraser discovereda draft of Maude Abbott’s letterof application to McGill’s Facultyof Medicine, dated the 11th ofFebruary, 1889. Thanks to Dr.Fred Silva, President of UnitedStates and Canadian Academy ofPathology, the letter is now in ourcollection. As we all know, MaudeAbbott’s unsuccessful applicationdid not keep her from obtainingher medical degree. Less wellknown, is that Maude’s friend therenowned Canadian artist MaryBell Eastlake was the first to plantthe idea of medicine as a careerin Maude’s mind. The artist alsopainted the well-know portrait ofMaude in her bright red doctoralrobes that hangs in the StrathconaAnatomy and Dentistry Building.What we did not know is that shealso produced another portrait ofAbbott. Dr. Fraser, on learningthat this portrait was up for sale,arranged for its purchase and do-nation to the Osler Library. This

Dr. Richard Fraser and portrait by Mary Bell Eastlakeof Maude Abbott

Undated snapshot of Mary Bell Eastlake in her studio

tem, the Respiratory System, Cir-culatory and Urinary Systems re-main unpublished, but are nowimpeccably conserved, on ourshelves.

thing that will be of lasting ben-efit to the Library.

While researching his exhibitionsand re-editing Maude Abbott’s

Thanks to your support, the con-servator Terry Rutherford alreadyhappened to be on the spot re-storing books that your genero-sity allows us to treat. Her pre-

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Prof. Robin Yates and Margaret Wee-siang Ng, Ph.D. student in the HistoryDepartment examining the Chinese herbal

very fine study will be placed inour post-1840 research room. Weare more than grateful to Dr.Fraser and to Dr. Fuks for thismagnificent acquisition.

Another example of close workwith our public has resulted in adonation to the Osler Library offunds to be used to reproduce anunpublished manuscript (and itstranscription) of the address thatOsler delivered to students at theUniversity of Pennsylvania in1885. Dr. Gail Beck Medicine ‘75and her husband Andrew Fenushave recently funded this publi-cation entitled From William Oslerto Osler Fellows, which will be pre-sented to Osler Fellows at theannual white coat ceremony everyOctober. This is our contributionto the Faculty of Medicine’s newPhysicianship Programme, led byDr. Don Boudreau, dedicated toinspiring medical students to un-derstand the role of the doctor ashealer and professional. In hisspeech, Osler outlined systemati-cally the steps in acquiring a medi-cal education, explaining in veryclear terms what the studentwould expect to learn during thecourse of his studies and how todo so. He finishes by saying:

The knowledge which a man can use isthe only real knowledge, the only knowl-edge that has life and growth in it andconverts itself into practical power. Therest hangs like dust about the brain ordries like rain drops off the stones.

We have made good use of yourhelp in other areas as well. Whileattending a conference at Cam-bridge University, ProfessorRobin Yates of the Department ofEast Asian Studies was shown im-ages from a Chinese herbal fromthe late 16th century which hadbeen rediscovered in the RareBook Room of the Institute of Tra-ditional Chinese Medicine inBeijing, China. The herbal, dated1591 has been reproduced in ex-act facsimile in the old-style

thread-bound format in 14 vol-umes or rolls contained in fourboxes. There are 1,128 images,outstanding sources for the studyof traditional Chinese medicine.

Thanks to your generosity, wepurchased the herbal giving Pro-fessor Yates’ students a rare oppor-tunity to consult this gloriouswork.

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Penfieldargued thatneurologywas close tothe brink ofextinction asa medicalspecialty…

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DELIA GAVRUS,

OSLER LIBRARY

RESEARCH TRAVEL

GRANT RECEIPIENT

2006

Ivisited the Osler Library inSeptember 2006 to conductresearch on the history of neu-

rology and neurosurgery in thefirst half of the 20th century. Forthis purpose, I consulted theWilder Penfield collection andthe William Cone papers.

My research focus was twofold:first, I looked at material relatedto the founding of the MontrealNeurological Institute. I was in-terested in the strategies thatWilder Penfield (1891-1976) em-ployed to sell the idea of a Neu-rological Institute to potentialfunders, and I wanted to identifythe critical factors that contrib-uted to the success of the projectat this particular time (1934). Af-ter all, a much more influentialneurosurgeon, Harvey Cushing(1869-1939), had attempted toestablish a similar institution – aNational Institute of Neurology –immediately after World War I,and he failed to get sufficient sup-port from the United States Gov-ernment and from private foun-dations. This past summer I vis-ited the Rockefeller Archives inNew York State to understand thereasons why the RockefellerFoundation was interested in con-tributing such a large sum ofmoney ($1,232,000) to the Mon-treal project. After looking at thePenfield papers, I began to under-stand how the specific local con-ditions in Montreal contributed tothe Foundation’s decision. How-ever, a much more interesting

At the opposite end of the scaleis our purchase of a number of e-books, including The CambridgeHistorical Dictionary of Disease. It isavailable to McGill users eitherthrough the McGill on-line cata-logue or from the Osler Libraryweb page under “on-line re-sources”, “encyclopaedias and dic-tionaries”. This is an excellentsource for concise information onthe history of 161 diseases and isa condensed version of The Cam-bridge World History of Human Dis-ease, edited by Kenneth F. Kiple,which we have on our shelf.

In between these two extremes wehave added some quite unusualrare works including the thirdedition, 1681 of FrançoisMauriceau’s Traité des maladies desfemmes grosses…pour bien aider lesfemmes en leurs accouchemensnaturels…with several plates. Re-garded as the foremost textbookof its time, this work is seen asestablishing obstetrics as a sci-ence, (Garrison & Morton, 5th ed.,6147). We have also purchasedSébastien Guillié’s Essai surl’instruction des aveugles… publishedin Paris in 1817, GeorgeSimpson’s The Anatomy of the Bonesand Muscles…designed for the use ofartists and members of the artists’ ana-tomical society, with lithographedillustrations, published in Londonin 1825 and to add to our collec-tion of material on nursing and theCrimean War, Eastern Hospitals andEnglish Nurses: the narrative of twelvemonths experience in the hospitals ofKoulali and Scutari, by a Lady Vo-lunteer, London, 1856, a two vo-lume work describing the wretch-edness of hospital care for the in-jured and ill during that miserablewar. The author, Mary MagdalenTaylor, calls on her readers tolearn from grim experience and tobegin the systematic training ofqualified nursing staff.

We continue to purchase an as-tonishing array of contemporarybooks. Among the many hun-dreds is Michael Bliss’ splendid bi-ography of Harvey Cushing, pub-lished in 2005. The author hasdelighted a wide range of readers,from those interested in Cushingas Osler’s biographer to those in-terested in knowing more aboutthe life and work of this highlyvisible neurosurgeon. Ancientmedicine is explored in Jo AnnScurlock’s Magico-Medical Means ofTreating Ghost-Induced Illnesses in An-cient Mesopotamia, Boston, 2006.And to prove that many topics inmedical history continue to berelevant today, James Dickerson’sYellow Fever: a Deadly Disease Poisedto Kill Again, New York 2006 re-minds us that the struggle againstdisease is far from over.

This brief report launches our an-nual appeal. At the time of writ-ing, our most recent Travel Grantrecipient is finishing pouring overthe Penfield Archive as she beginsher doctoral work at the Univer-sity of Toronto’s Department ofHistory. Next year’s candidatesare already inquiring about the2007 award. Another researcheris at work on our historical ana-tomical atlases, including theabove-mentioned work bySimpson, recently acquiredthanks to you. Thank you. It isbecause of your help that theseresearchers are here. Our numbersare growing. Your help ensuresthat our on-going seminar willcontinue to meet the needs ofthose interested in Osler and thehistory of medicine. �

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NOTES FROM THE

OSLER LIBRARY

History of Medicine Meetings

Last Spring in Halifax, amidbagpipes, musical medicalstudents, a lobster feed and

some of the best presentationsever, Dr. Jock Murray was namedPresident of the American OslerSociety. A neurologist, well-known for his roll in promotingthe medical humanities andformer Dean of the Faculty ofMedicine of Dalhousie Univer-sity, Dr. Murray will preside overthe next meeting of the AOS,from the 30th of April to the 3rd ofMay, here in Montreal. The meet-ings are timed to overlap with theAmerican Association of the His-

Revere Osler’s Christening Cup

critical factor appears to havebeen Penfield’s attempt to drawattention to a supposed crisis inneurology. Penfield argued thatneurology was close to the brinkof extinction as a medicalspecialty due to a variety of rea-sons, and that the only course ofaction was a different (i.e. surgi-cal) approach to the diseases ofthe nervous system and a drasticchange in the education of neu-rologists and neurosurgeons, anargument that the RockefellerFoundation was particularly inter-ested in given a recent change inpolicy. In essence, Penfieldendeavored to redraw theboundaries between the closelyrelated fields of neurology, neu-rosurgery, and psychiatry at a timewhen these disciplines were influx and had not established moreor less strict boundaries. At thesame time, Penfield pointed outthe danger of overspecializationand of losing touch with generalmedicine. This rhetoric of holismwas common in the interwar pe-riod, as historical scholarship hasshown, and proved to be a suc-cessful technique in lobbying forthe establishment of an institutethat promised, to put it anachro-nistically, a multidisciplinary ap-proach to diseases of the nervoussystem.

My second research focus was onPenfield’s correspondence withother neurosurgeons and neurolo-gists in order to understand theways in which the purview ofthese disciplines was negotiatedand shaped. For instance, Penfieldinsisted in his letters to other phy-sicians on using the term ‘neuro-surgeon’ to the more commonlyused ‘neurological surgeon,’ andhe made an effort to induce oth-ers to use this term. This consti-tutes one of the less dramatic, butnonetheless effective strategiesthat he used to carve out a broaderand more secure place for hismedical specialty. Unlike

Cushing, who saw neurologicalsurgery as primarily concernedwith tumor removal, Penfield wasvery much interested in extend-ing the authority of this medicalbranch to other illnesses, such asepilepsy. Penfield’s correspond-ence with his colleagues also re-veals points of contention thatshaped twentieth-century neuro-science discourse, for examplePenfield’s argument with the Brit-ish neurologist Francis Walshe(1885-1973) over the “homuncu-lus” and with the Harvard neu-rologist Stanley Cobb (1887-1968) over the mind-brain prob-lem.

The Penfield and Cone papers atthe Osler Library are an invalu-able resource for historians inter-ested in twentieth-century neurol-ogy and neurosurgery. I am verygrateful for the wonderful oppor-tunity to visit the Osler Librarythat the Research Travel Grant hasafforded me, and I am indebtedto Pamela Miller and her wonder-ful staff for all their help. �

tory of Medicine and the Archi-vists and Librarians in the Historyof the Health Sciences. Eager re-searchers are already planningtheir visits to the Osler Library.

Revere Osler’s Christening CupThe late Professor ArchieMalloch’s sister, Mrs. Joan Lord,has presented the Osler Librarywith Revere Osler’s christeningcup. Revere was born in Baltimoreon December 28th, 1895. MichaelBliss, in his recent biography ofOsler, reports that Grace Oslerinsisted that the baptismal waterfrom the River Jordan be sterilizedfor health reasons, leaving verylittle for the ceremony. Later, hisAfro-American nurse, unim-pressed with the ceremony, car-ried out her own rite in the nurs-ery with a full cup of water. (Blissp. 240) The cup was given toGeorgina Osler Abbott followingRevere’s tragic death. She addeda spout. It then passed toKatherine Abbott Malloch, thewife of Dr. T.A. Malloch and thento Joan Lord, Grace Revere Osler’sgoddaughter. The cup is a delight-

Eagerresearchersare alreadyplanningtheir visits tothe OslerLibrary.

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Margaret Ridley CharletonUnveiling ceremony of a plaque of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board ofCanada commemorating the national historic significance of Margaret RidleyCharleton, Osler Library, May 1, 2006. l. to r. Mr. David Crawford, EmeritusLibrarian and originator of the dedication (see OLN 100); Mrs. FrancineÉmond, Director, Western Quebec Field Unit, Parks Canada; Mrs. JanineSchmidt, Trenholme Director of Libraries; Mrs. Frances Groen, EmeritusLibrarian; Mr. Jean-Claude Marsan, Representative of the Historic Sites andMonuments Board of Canada

ful but poignant addition to ourOslerian silver, which ranges fromfamily items to elaborate presen-tation pieces.

Worthington Watch

Dr. Ronald Bayne, Med. ’47presented us with an unusual gold watch. The

inscribed watch was presented toDr. E.D. Worthington (1820-1895) by his friends in re-cognition of his service inSherbrooke, Quebec, for helpingto control an outbreak ofsmallpox. Dr. Worthington wasloved and respected for his workamong the citizens of that town,rich and poor alike, serving thecommunity for 50 years. Thewatch is a welcome supplementto our Worthington archivalfonds that documents the ac-tivities of Dr. Worthington andhis family. Of particular interestis the apprenticeship of youngWorthington to the famoussurgeon Dr. James Douglas ofQuebec City in 1833 at the ageof 13. �

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Dr. Ronald Bayne and familypresenting the gold watch given to Dr.Worthington by grateful citizens

Worthington watchThe watch isa welcomesupplement toourWorthingtonarchivalfonds…

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FRIENDS OF THE

OSLER LIBRARY

The Library gratefully ac-knowledges the support ithas received from Friends,

both old and new, who have re-sponded to the appeal for fundsfor the 2005-2006 academic year.Over the year, 205 Friends havegiven a total of approximately$26,600 and they are listed below.Most of the contributions havecome from Friends in Canada andthe United States of America.However, very welcome contribu-tions have also come from severalother continents.

The appeal to the Friends forthe 2005-2006 academic yearconcluded on May 31, 2006.Contributions received after May31, 2006 will be recorded in the2007 fall issue of the Osler LibraryNewsletter.

The appeal for the 2006-2007academic year is made in this is-sue, No. 106-2006.

Contributing FriendsAnnmarie AdamsDaniel M. AlbertJack B. AlperinDavid G. AndersonJacques BernierDeniz BevanGeorges BordageStuart S. BursteinJ. Walker ButinRobert CampbellLibrary, Canada Science

and Technology MuseumRobert J. ChapmanRichard R. CherryJack CohenDavid F. CopelandStacey B. DayPeter S.B. DigbyDonald E. DouglasDuke Medical Center Library,

Duke UniversityPaul G. DymentRobert Roy Forsey

Thomas Emmett FrancoeurToby GelfandJohn T. GoldenGreenfield BooksH. Alexander HeggtveitShigeaki HinoharaH. Michael JonesGuy JoronHarriet JosephPeter B. KangCamilo LarrainMichael Allan LefsonDouglas W. MacEwanMedizinhistorisches

Institut der Universität BernSumner E. MoultonJohn A. NewsomHarry OxornJohn Marshall PogueBenjamin E. PotterGuillermo QuinonezHerbert RakatanskyStuart A. RosenbergHistory of Medicine Library,

Royal Australasian Collegeof Physicians

G.M. RuckerbauerJune SchachterHeimo ScheerSeymour A. SiegalSouth Florida Neurosurgical

InstituteWilliam G. SteinRichard SveumWalter Van Emde BoasH.D. VosKarin-Maria Waterhouse

Supporting FriendsLawrence K. AltmanBilly F. AndrewsRobert AustrianRonald D. BayneGregory Kent BergeyRobert H. BourneHoward B. BurchellD.J. CanaleEdward CarterFrançoise P. ChagnonAlan J.H. CoffeyDavid S. CrawfordJune R. CumberlandPatrick M. DoranReginald H. FitzClare M. FlintEsther and Leonard GellerRoger Ghys

David S. GoldbloomJames T. GoodrichSheldon H. GottliebPeter E. GreigTheodore J. HaywoodAlexandre Ram Henri-BhargavaBrahm B. HyamsSally JacksonRobert A.H. KinchDouglas G. KinnearElizabeth LamontDonald G.M. LawrenceJ. Peter MacLeodIvar MendezErich MeyerhoffWendy MitchinsonPaul MuellerAllister NeherJohn NobleDaniel B. NunnW. David ParsonsMurray C. PatrickClaus A. PierachM.B. PraneshJames B. RocheTheodor K. ShnitkaHoward McCrum SnyderRalph H. SpekenEdward A. SpragueDonald E. StanleyJames F. TooleJohn T. TrumanC. Peter WarrenJohn WhaleyJoel Arthur WirthJohn A. Woods

PatronsJuan José AlvaSarah J. AtikenJeremiah A. BarondessRobert H. BartlettJames D. BaxterLeonard George BendikasZlata BlazinaMichael BlissBracken Library,

Queen’s UniversityJohn W. BrennanHugh R. BrodieAudrey CoppingRichard L. CruessRichard A. CurrieJames H. DarraghSakti DasAndre DascalArthur D. Dawson

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The Librarygratefullyacknowledgesthe support ithas receivedfromFriends…

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Editorial Committee for theNewsletter: Faith Wallis, Editor;Pamela Miller, History ofMedicine Librarian andAssistant Editor; Lily Szczygiel,Editorial Assistant.

Address: Osler Library of theHistory of Medicine,McGill University, McIntyreMedical Sciences Building,3655 Promenade Sir-William-Osler, Montréal, Québec,Canada, H3G 1Y6.Tel: (514) 398-4475 ext. 09873Fax: (514) 398-5747E-mail: osler.library@mcgill.caURL: http://www.mcgill.ca/osler-library/

Legal Deposit 2/2006ISSN 0085-4557Legal Deposit 2/2006ISSN 1712-7955

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A New Neighbour. This photograph,taken earlier this year by AlanForster, shows the groundwork for ournew next door neighbour to the eastof us, the Francesco Bellini LifeSciences Building and the new CancerResearch Pavilion

Auro del GiglioAnthony R.C. DobellMartin P. EdelsteinWilliam H. FeindelRobert A. FortuineLouis Hugo FrancescuttiRichard S. FraserSamuel O. FreedmanRichard R. GalpinWilliam C. GibsonPeter G. GillettRichard L. GoldenNorman Lusby GoodwinFrances GroenArthur GryfeEve Osler HampsonJoseph K. HanawayM.E. Hart Foundation

(Sally and Michael Sheehy)Lewis W. HerseyJulian HoffCampbell P. HowardJohn D.W. HsuJ. William IbbottJoan K. JacksonJulia and Seymour Gross

Foundation, Inc.(Mernard M. Gertler)

J. Susan KelenStuart G. KenningJack D. KeyGeoffrey W. LehmanJoseph W. LellaPhilip W. LeonAlphonse Leure-DupreeA. Brian LittleVictor K.S. LuiBrian LivesleyDave E. LounsburyIan M. MacDonaldJohn P. McGovernMargaret McIntyre

James Robert Osler McIntyreC. Dunella MacLeanPeter James McLeodJames C. MeadRobert MennelThomas G. Middlebro’Pamela MillerRobert E. MitchellFast Track Surgery Group,

Montreal General HospitalKimie MoriyamaJohn R. MooreEarl F. NationRichard T. O’KellSilvio J. OnestiJames Benjamin PhillipsM.B. PraneshRaymond Harold PrincePeter C. PulrangFred B. RogersCharles G. RolandN. Paul RosmanMilton C. RoxanasDickens Saint-VilHenry J. ScottHuntington SheldonTheodore L. SourkesEdward T. StevensSarah StevensonJoseph StratfordPhilip M. TeigenMichael L. TerrinMary Donnell TilghmanMarshall TrossmanJ. Van GijnA. Kevin WattersWilliam A. WhitelawH. Bruce WilliamsCharles F. WooleyGail Yenta and Andrew Earl FenusJames B. Young �

Your helpensures thatour on-goingseminar willcontinue tomeet the needsof thoseinterested inOsler and thehistory ofmedicine.

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Christmaswishes sent byOsler to anunknowncorrespondent,adapted fromHenry VIII,Act. iii, Sc. 2(P100 SirWilliam OslerCollectionAddenda)