Philadelphia Antiques Show 2018

cold condition), thus improving their overall health. He also sought to ease their troubled minds with his inventions, the most famous being the tranquilizing chair; it was used to confine patients and was supposed to aid in calming those who were agitated. Success was seen more readily in the early uses of occupational therapy. Rush has the distinction of being known as the “Father of American Psychiatry” for his interest and care of the mentally ill. He published what is considered an early American text in psychiatry, Medical Inquiries and Observations Upon the Diseases of the Mind (1812). The Thomas Sully portrait that hangs prominently outside the Historic Library was commissioned by Rush’s students to honor their departed teacher. The portrait was painted posthumously, and has adorned the Pine Building since 1813. Inside the Historic Library, there are over 13,000 volumes in the collection, dating roughly between 1483 and 1930; it includes one of the most complete collections of medical books published between 1750 and 1850. The medical library began in 1762 when Dr. John Fothergill, a London physician and friend of Dr. Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin, sent over a gift to provide for the “young men of physic.” Fothergill entrusted Dr. William Shippen, Jr. to present his gifts—the three anatomical plaster casts still on display in the room; a book, William Lewis’ An Experimental History of Materia Medica ; and sixteen anatomical drawings by Jan Van Rymsdyk. The casts and drawings illustrate how anatomy was taught in the 18 th Century; opening cadavers was still illegal although that did not preclude it from happening. The volumes and educational tools are still used today by researchers. The Historic Collections hosts over 100 researchers each year, expanding our knowledge of medical history and the evolution of health care in this country and beyond. In the nineteenth and much of the twentieth century, the room was in use as an active library for hospital staff; a young resident would sign out books one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Today, the room is used for special events and tours; any use of the library material takes place in the Historic Collections Reference Room under supervision of the Curator-Lead Archivist. Book are no longer signed out. In the 19 th and early 20 th century all monthly Board of Manager meetings took place in the Historic Library; keeping with tradition, the current Board of Managers still host at least one meeting per year in the Historic Library. The room is preserved through a dedicated HVAC system to control the temperature and humidity, thus ensuring the preservation of the rare books. When in need of conservation, books are taken to specialists to repair them. Taking one more flight up, vis- itors may view the nation’s oldest Surgical Amphitheatre. People come from across the world to visit it each year. This room lacks all the modern conveniences of surgery— no effective anesthesia, no sterile technique, no privacy. Operations took place from 1804 to 1868, utilizing the skylight, and on occa- sion candles, to provide surgeries between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The light hanging in the center of the room is an electrified reproduction of the gas light and was hung later. Medical students purchased tickets to sit in the gallery and observed some of the famous surgeons of early American medicine, such as Dr. Philip Syng Physick, Father of Portrait, Philip Syng Physick, unknown artist after George Inman Surgical Amphitheatre, image by Robert Neroni Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Collections Historical Library photo by Robert Neroni W 137 W