The Southern California Medical Museum
The SCMM medical history library, The Ralph M. Kleinman Memorial Medical Library fills the shelves of beautiful oak cases which occupy the entry area. Other books are stored in the back room storage area, under cabinets, and in the doctor’s office bookcase. Books are primarily from the early 1800’s to the 1920’s.
Rare Book Find: Recently, our curators made a discovery of major importance going through a donation of books from the Orange County Medical Association (OCMA). Along with numerous texts and interesting items from the mid 1800’s to mid 1900’s, was one stand out volume of great historical interest. A very fine copy of Medicina Practica, a text of medicine lectures from great Padua Italy physician, D. Girolamo Mercuriale (Hieronymus Mercurialis) and assisted by Petrus de Spina. Published in Latin in his native Italy in the year 1601, the volume comprises five sub-books and has numerous period liner notes written in ink in the margins and edges of the pages. (An interesting side note is that the volume contains a letter of dedication to the patron of the doctors, an elector of the Holy Roman Empire.) Until the early part of the 1700’s, almost all medical books (and also science books) were written in Latin. After that period, most books were written in the author’s native language and then translated for publication in other countries. Photos of the book are coming shortly and will be posted here. The text has been scanned by Google (from a source in Bavaria, Germany) and can be found here link to: Google Scan of text.
Library Highlights
