RCSI Heritage Collections

When we received an email starting “I’m a graduate (Class of '88) and Fellow (1993) of the college with a side interest in History!”, and signed Houriya, it was one of those lovely surprises we like to find in our inbox !  Dr Houriya Kazim had come across this student letter dated March 29th, 1946, on RCSI Student Union paper. It was in an online auction and its provenance was unknown. She bought it and reached out to RCSI Heritage Collections to offer it as a donation and arranged a friendly visit, along with her daughter, to hand deliver the find.  We don’t know about you, but we are all quite taken with the writing manner and the contents. Would De Valera be flattered by the impression he made at the College Dance?  Mentions of the Compassionate Guild (scroll to end for more!), the ballet and a new hat... Dr Kazim was taken with the whole style of the letter and the glimpse offered into the wonderful world of this 1940s (female?) student. We are, of course, intrigued...

For those passing by the Anatomy room in 123 St. Stephen's Green, you may notice the table-top display cases are home to some short-term displays. We are using broad themes to link and highlight all kinds of Heritage Collections. While themes may re-run in the future, the objects will change, so take a closer look. Head & Heart RCSI/MI/1040 Phrenology head We have no provenance or date recorded for this item, but this curiosity was recently studied by a cohort of students in the Heritage Collections Student Choice Module. Phrenology is considered a Victorian endeavour to link personality traits with scalp shape. In today’s world it is debunked and seen as problematic. One major point of contention is the belief that head shape can provide insights into underlying brain function. Other widely held criticisms of this pseudoscience relate to biases associated with eugenics, racism, classism and sexism.  RCSI/PAMP/370Bkk 'Clinical lectures on diseases of the heart’, delivered a...