RCSI Heritage Collections

As the number of shopping days left before Christmas continues to dwindle, RCSI Heritage Collections decided to have a look at what was on offer to those in the medical world in times gone by. By looking at advertisements in the back of the  Medical Directory  series, which spans from 1852 to today, you could pick a variety of items for those hard to get and not so hard to get people in your life. Let's have a look at what was on offer..... For the ladies, why not get the most fashionable figure hugging under apparel? An ad for Bailey's Ladies Bandages and Belts from 1853. 'No Lady Should Be Without One' - who can argue with that!  Spirella Figure Foundation Garments from 1936. How about that person who is always trying new health fads? How yummy, orange peel flavoured cod liver oil tablets?! From 1853. Many would try and claim that beer can aid sickness..... From 1889. Valentine's Meat Juice from 1936. Say no more!  Not forgetting...

Please welcome the second item to take the spotlight in our 'Intriguing Heritage Items' series...... The Surgeons' Mate or Military and Domestique Surgery  by John Woodall   The Surgeon's Mate by John Woodall dated 1639 Woodall himself can be seen in the bottom middle portrait This copy of John Woodall's book is housed in the RCSI Mercer Library and dates from 1639. Woodall was an English surgeon born in 1570 who lived for long periods in Germany, Poland, Holland and mainland Europe. In 1604 when King James I of England sent an embassy to Poland and Russia, Woodall was included because of his knowledge of these countries and their languages. The man leading this embassy was Sir Thomas Smith was Governor of the East India Company and soon to be employer of Woodall. In 1612 Woodall was appointed Surgeon General of the East India Company.  Woodall's career continued upwards and he was appointed surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital in 1616...

Heritage Week starts next week and RCSI Heritage Collections are delighted to be running tours and talks on Monday 24th, Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th August. Tours will take place at 11am, 2pm and 6pm each day and will be followed by a talk entitled Dublin in the Rare Ol' Times The talk will look at what it was like to live in Dublin in the decades leading up to the 1916 Easter Rising with a particular focus on the living, health, sanitation and hospital conditions during those years.  Advertisements taken from the Medical Directory  of the time show what new medical devices were being sold, what courses were available and the latest waterproofers in fashion! You will notice some of these establishments are still around in Dublin today.  The horrendous living conditions endured by those in the tenements and the diseases Dubliners battled on a daily basis will also be touched upon. Tenement in Kilmainham in 1914 Sir Charles Cameron's...

Last week the RCSI Heritage Collections were involved in the recording of the brilliant The Book Show on RTÉ Radio 1  which will be aired this Saturday 20th December. The show is about the rise of Gothic novels and ghost stories. Sinead Gleeson, The Book Show presenter, discusses Edith Wharton's novel The Eyes with Dr. Ian Flitcroft, an eye surgeon at Temple Street Hospital and author of the short-listed People's Book Prize 2013 The Reluctant Cannibals .     To set the scene for The Eyes  the RCSI Heritage Collections pulled out a number of antique eye instruments and gave a brief description on how they were used. RCSI/MI/964 The instrument on the left is an eye retractor (RCSI/MI/964). This would have been used to pull and hold the overlying tissue out of the operating field. RCSI/MI/942 is an eye scoop. This would have been used after the removal of an eye to scoop out any of the remaining tissue. The instrument below is an eye speculum (RCSI/MI/...

You will be glad to hear that after an unscheduled break in posts the  RCSI Heritage Collections blog is back.  These guys, well some of them, certainly are! RCSI Second Year Students and Staff from 1952-53 During our hiatus International Archives Day was celebrated around the world. The International Council of Archives invited archival institutes to submit an image linked to the locality in which they worked. All these images were then uploaded on to the International Archives Day website. Take a browse through the amazing variety of material that is housed and cared for in archives from the four corners of the globe! - Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy

The TV series Penny Dreadful aired last night on Sky Atlantic and what an opening episode! Between vampires living in sewers underneath 1890s London to Victor Frankenstein's lab full of the College's antique medical instruments, it's definitely one to watch. Part of Victor Frankenstein's lab in the TV series 'Penny Dreadful' - Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy

Yesterday 27 medical instruments were picked up from the RCSI Heritage Collections to be used in an up-coming horror TV series. The series which was created for the giant US TV network Showtime by Josh Logan is being filmed in Ardmore Studios in Bray and is called Penny Dreadful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Dreadful_(TV_series) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2628232/ http://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4286483&tpl=archnews It is set in Victorian London and will feature a number of famous (and infamous) characters from classic horror literature. These include Dorian Gray, Dracula and Dr. Victor Frankenstien. Filming is taking place now in various locations around Dublin and features such stars as Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett, Eva Green and Helen McCrory.   RCSI/MI/707/93 - Metal box of sutures RCSI/MI/727/93 - Surgical instruments in wooden box The instruments supplied by the RCSI Heritage Collections will be on display ...