The Milwaukee Academy of Medicine has a collection of rare books of medical significance.
The collection is housed in the History of Medicine Archives Vault which is an environmentally controlled room that has a stack capacity of 22,000 volumes. The Milwaukee Academy of Medicine collection and archives, as well as the Medical College of Wisconsin History of Medicine collection and archives, are housed in the vault. These books are available to scholars by contacting the Medical College of Wisconsin library at (414) 955-8300. There are approximately 1,500 volumes in the entire Milwaukee Academy of Medicine book collection. Books of historical medical significance are added to the Academy collection regularly.
View the entire Milwaukee Academy of Medicine collection
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Horace Manchester Brown Collection
The Milwaukee Academy of Medicine inherited a collection of rare and historic medical books from Horace Manchester Brown in 1930. The collection is comprised of 347 volumes. The gem of the Brown collection is the 1543 (1st) edition of De Humani Corporis Fabrica by Andreas Vesalius. Although the anatomic drawings are largely self-exploratory, the text is in Latin, limiting its value to most modern anatomists.
A recently published English translation of two volumes has been purchased by the Academy. On the Fabric of the Human Body Book I deals with the Bones and Cartilages; Book II deals with the Ligaments and Muscles. The translators are William Frank Richardson and John Burd Carman. The translation is eminently readable and illustrates Vesalius' genius in describing the details of his dissections. View the Horace Manchester Brown Collection
A recently published English translation of two volumes has been purchased by the Academy. On the Fabric of the Human Body Book I deals with the Bones and Cartilages; Book II deals with the Ligaments and Muscles. The translators are William Frank Richardson and John Burd Carman. The translation is eminently readable and illustrates Vesalius' genius in describing the details of his dissections. View the Horace Manchester Brown Collection
Sydenham Collection
The New Sydenham Society of England published a series of books covering a variety of medical topics. Each book dealt with a specific medical writer or lecturer or topic. The series in the Academy's collection includes 152 volumes published during the middle and late 1800s. Each book carries the Academy book plate noting that it was dedicated to the memory of Alfred William Gray, MD.
View the Sydenham Collection
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