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Medical Manuscripts Acquisition Announcement



Media Contact:  Amy Bognaski, PR & Marketing Coordinator
   (410) 685-3750, ext. 329/E-mail: abognaski@mdhs.org
Date:   February 28, 2000

For Release:  Immediately

Maryland Historical Society Announces Acquisition of
Medical Manuscripts from MedChi

(Baltimore, MD) ? The Maryland Historical Society Library (MHS) announced today the acquisition of an important collection of medical manuscripts which tells the story of healthcare practices and their evolution, as well as the practices of physicians in Maryland from the 18th through the 20th centuries.  The documents come to the MHS from MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, creating a repository which illustrates the development of health sciences in this state.

?This exciting acquisition makes the records held here at the Maryland Historical Society more complete,? said David de Lorenzo, Director for the MHS Library.  ?In the past, researchers interested in the history of medicine have had to go to different locations to access sufficient materials.  With the collection on site here at the MHS, as opposed to some being archived here, and some being archived at MedChi, we hope to bring in a wider audience to our library and build on existing collection strengths.?

Items in the collection include all of the records from the Baltimore General Dispensary, an organization established at the beginning of the 19th century to deliver health care to the poor.  ?These records give a sense of the paternalistic view of health care and its exclusivity at the time.  In order to be served by the BGD, you had to have a note from an upstanding member of the community to say that you were of good character,? states Margaret Burri, Deputy Director of MedChi.  The collection is particularly valuable because it documents the care of Baltimore?s free black, immigrant, and indigent communities.  Founded in 1801 and chartered in 1807, the Dispensary was Baltimore?s first charity and the third chartered institution in the state of Maryland.  The collection includes minute books, casebooks, treasurer?s reports, and correspondence.

A number of medical training manuscripts belonging to John Archer, the recipient of the first medical diploma in the United States, are in this most recent acquisition, reuniting this prominent doctor?s texts together in one centralized location.  ?I am extremely pleased and honored that MedChi has chosen us to be the repository where researchers can access the records,? said Mr. de Lorenzo.  ?The Maryland Historical Society is an appropriate location for these records.  As collections such as these are made available to researchers, our knowledge of historical change in health care will increase.  Ordinary practitioners and their actions can be placed in a larger cultural and intellectual context.?  In addition, the class lecture notes found in the collection depict the growth in medical knowledge during the nineteenth century.

Other major components to the collection are the records of Dr. Louis Krause, one of the founders of Lutheran Hospital in the early 20th century.  As the personal physician to William Albright, an acclaimed Egyptologist, Dr. Krause traveled to numerous overseas locations and his personal accounts of these travels, as well as photographs, are included.  The collection also contains casebooks of three generations of the Chatard family, noted Baltimore obstetricians.

For more information about the MedChi acquisition and the other resources available at the Maryland Historical Society Library, call 410-685-3750.  The MHS Library is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. ? 4:30 p.m.
 

The Maryland Historical Society, founded in 1844, is a museum and library of cultural history that collects, preserves and interprets objects and materials reflecting Maryland?s diverse heritage.  Located at 201 West Monument Street in Baltimore?s historic Mount Vernon Cultural District, the museum is open Tuesday ? Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the first Thursday of every month from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday ? with free admission ? from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Admission is $4 for the general public; $3 for seniors, students (with valid ID) and children 13 to 17; free for members and children 12 and under; free for the general public on Sundays. There is also a special family rate of $6 for two adults and two children. Visit the MHS website at http://www.mdhs.org.
 
 
 

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David de Lorenzo                       201 West Monument Street
Library Director                       Baltimore, MD 21201-4674
Maryland Historical Society            (410) 685-3750 Ext. 309
Library of Maryland History            FAX: (410) 385-2105
                        http://www.mdhs.org