The New York Academy of Medicine: Initiatives: Historical Collections

Historical Collections

"Historical Account of the Small-Pox Inoculated in New England..." was written in 1730 by Zabdiel Boylston and is among the 32,000 volumes in the Academy's Malloch Rare Book Room.

The Rare Book and History of Medicine Collections at The New York Academy of Medicine comprise one of the world's finest research libraries in the history of medicine and public health. The Academy's library began with the donation of a set of Martyn Paine's Commentaries during the second meeting of the Academy, which was founded in 1847. Since that time, the collection has grown via gifts and purchases to approximately 32,000 volumes dating from the 15th through the 18th centuries. This impressive collection now includes 85 to 90 percent of the medical books printed in what is now the United States between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. First editions of later major works, such as Freud's work on dreams, are also housed in the Malloch Rare Book Room.

In addition to printed books, these holdings contain an enormous collection of primary sources in the history of the health sciences. Our manuscript collection includes the Edwin Smith Papyrus, a work on surgery written in 1700 B.C. in ancient Egypt, and a number of significant medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, such as the Chirurgia of Guy de Chauliac, written in Middle English and dated 1363. The Rare Book Room retains primary source materials in public health, infectious disease, developments in medical research and in clinical medicine,

The Pepys Amputation set, circa 1820, is among the valuable artifacts held by Historical Collections.

obstetrics and gynecology, the development and regulation of the medical profession, the growth of medical societies and hospitals. In addition, we maintain a large vertical file of portraits rendered in a variety of print mediums such as engraving, lithography and photography.

To support this remarkable collection, Historical Collections maintains an extensive reference collection in the history of the health sciences, as well as the history of books and printing. The fact that medical books have remained a significant part of the world's production of written and printed texts is reflected in the Rare Book Room's collections.

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