Droning On...

After wanting a drone for ages, I finally got one... and promptly flew it into the woods up at my friends' farm. Luckily, I had insurance on it, and got another one. But then, another friend was selling his, which was WAY easier to use than my original one, so I bought that and returned the replacement! 

Whew!

You might be asking what this might have to do with this History of Medicine blog, so I will tell you! There are artworks, busts, and other items that are out of my reach. I can't get a good "head on" view of these items to get a good identification for them. 

Sending a drone up, even ten feet or so, gets me at eye-level with the art work. Two of our busts are in the Krause Room, above the bookcases. Last year, I finally identified two of the bronze busts, but the only photos I got were from the ground (or my eye level) looking up.

Using my drone, whose name is Daisy Drone by the way, I took photos of the busts at eye level. 

Stay tuned for more drone photos, and me seeing what I can do with my new toy tool.

Another Mystery Solved

In our beautiful Krause Room, there are four busts that look down from the trim that surrounds the room and tops the bookcases. They are about ten feet off the ground, and are a bit difficult to see.

But half of that mystery was recently solved, when searching through an 1899 Maryland Medical Journal article about MedChi’s history. In the article, there was an engraving of a bronze bust with the caption as follows: Engraved from bronze bust in possession of Medical & Chirurgical Faculty. Nathan R. Smith, MD of Baltimore, 1797-1877.

Dr. Smith lived in Baltimore and was selected to become the chair of surgery at the University of Maryland in 1827, commencing an eventful, 50-year career. Considered a bold and skillful operator, Smith was known to his students as “The Emperor.” His removal of a goiter from a patient was the first procedure of its kind in Maryland and only the second thyroidectomy in the country. 

Something about the engraving in the article seemed familiar, so I went to the Krause Room to take close-up images of the busts. Once I spent a few minutes comparing the actual bronze to the engraving of the bronze, I realized that that they were the same person: Nathan Ryno Smith, MD. Interestingly, it looks like there are two small repairs on the bust, one on the top of his head and a smaller one on his clavicle.

As I continued to read the article, I realized another image showed the second of the four busts!

It is John D. Buckler, MD (1785-1866) and again, it’s an engraving from a bust in our collection.

He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1817 and was an adjunct professor of anatomy there, as well. This one was a bit easier because the hairstyles are so similar. 

Two down. Two to go!

Staying Safe

We care about all of our art and artifacts, and wanted to make sure they were all being safe during this pandemic. 

Dr. J.M.T. Finney

So, I made masks for them. 

Unknown figure

John T. King, MD

I continue to find new pieces and great stories every time I explore our offices! I was up in Marcia's old apartment with some contractors, and we were moving some things. There, up against the wall was a huge (30x30 inches) bronze in a wooden frame. 

Obviously, I didn't try to bring it back downstairs for study, but snapped some pictures of it to check later. 

Luckily, the name of the sitter is right there and so there was no question as to who it was. John T. King, MD. He's listed in the Centennial book, so that was a start to my research.

Most unfortunately, John King is a pretty common name, and the year King died, another man with the exact same name, had bilked a number of people out of large sums of money, and was on trial. That filled most of the newspapers in the early months of 1924. 

But I kept digging and found King's obituary in December of 1924.

There is no mention of his involvement at MedChi, which must have been significant for him to have been honored with a large bronze plaque.

There are holes in each of the corners of the plaque, which leads me to believe that is had been hanging someplace in the building. We do have a number of other bronzes around the property. And as I mentioned in that post, I figured that there were bronzes that I hadn't found yet... and there were!

The Bronzes at MedChi

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the bronze plaque of George Rohé (1851-1899).

I realized that we have about a half-dozen of these bronze plaques scattered around, mostly in the 1909 building. Most of the bronzes date from the time that the building was opened and then about 20 years beyond that. 

The two most important ones are probably those of Sir William Osler, MD.  One is a profile of Sir William with his trademark walrus mustache. This was commissioned in Paris by his close Baltimore friend, Dr. Henry Barton Jacobs, in honor of the dedication of the "new" building and the Hall named after Osler.

William Osler
 To whom as a testimonial of admiration and affection this Hall is Dedicated, May 13, 1909 

The other is a memorial to a good friend of the Faculty's.

William Osler, Physician, Scholar, Teacher, Friend.
Beloved member and benefactor of this Faculty.
His presence was a quickening impulse.
His memory is an enduring inspiration.

The Osler Library at McGill University in Montreal has a bronze that's nearly identical to the profile we have. 

Both of these bronzes hold pride of place on either side of the Thomas Corner portrait of Sir William at the front of Osler Hall. 

There is a large bronze in the stacks that is a tribute to Ridgely Brown Warfield. Sadly, because of its placement in the stacks, it's not seen as often as some of the other bronzes, but we added a framed giclée of it to the cabinets in the Krause Room. 

From our 100th anniversary book:

Warfield Ridgely Brown: Born in Howard County. Maryland on June 15 1864. He received his MD from the University of Maryland in 1884. He was an Assistant Resident Physician at University Hospital in 1884-85; Resident Physician at Bayview Asylum in 1885-86; Demonstrator of Anatomy, University of Maryland, 1892-93; Demonstrator of Anatomy, Baltimore Medical College, 1893-95; Associate Professor of Anatomy, Baltimore Medical College, 1895; Surgeon General of Maryland, 1897; and on the Surgical Staff of the Maryland General Hospital. Offices at 845 Park Avenue, Baltimore. 

As with many organizations and schools active during World War I, there is a memorial to those members of the Faculty who were lost during the war. This was presented at a meeting on May 12, 1920 by Dr. J.W. Harrison. After the presentation, a "smoker" was held in the banquet room. 

Sadly, the men who are listed are only the ones from Baltimore County, and not the entire state. 

Isaac Ridgeway Trimble was a rising star in the medical field before he died from a blood infection contracted during a surgery. His friends commissioned this plaque after his death, and we also have a portrait of him in our collection.

There were also small bronze medals, struck with the same image, that were given to those who lectured at the annual memorial lecture in Trimble's name. You can read more about Dr. Trimble, his bronze and the lectures here. 

We have bronzes of two of the Big Four at Hopkins, with Osler, and this one of William H. Welch. Among his other accomplishments, Welch was president of MedChi in 1891-92, and was twice the Orator.

This bronze was sculpted by Victor David Brenner who is most well-known for his profile of Abraham Lincoln which is on the Lincoln penny. 

In 1910, Dr. Welch and Dr. Henry Barton Jacobs had traveled to Paris, and while there, Dr. Welch sat for a commemorative plaque sculpted by Victor David Brenner whose profile of Abraham Lincoln graces every U.S. penny. 

The bronze was created in honor of Welch's election to the Presidency of the American Medical Association. Initially, three small plaquettes were created, but later, larger versions of the plaque were cast. Three of these are held in the collections of Johns Hopkins, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital and of course, Med Chi.

Finally - actually, there might be other bronzes that I haven't found yet - there is this bronze from the MedChi Women's Auxiliary, given on the occasion of the renovation of the 1909 building, the only one at the time of the gift.

We will be adding another bronze in the next few months to acknowledge School 49, one of Baltimore's most beloved public schools, and now one of MedChi's buildings.

George H. Rohé in Bronze

One of my current projects is cataloging the bronzes in our collection. There are several scattered around the buildings, including the two of Sir William Osler, MD, which are in Osler Hall. 

Today, I received a phone call from someone who had seen my name listed as the "in-house" historian, and she asked if I knew about a bas relief that had been at our Eutaw Street location, also known as Hamilton Terrace. 

First, I was pretty sure I'd never heard it called Hamilton Terrace, but when I checked the Medical Annals (1899), the HQ location was referred to by both names, sometimes at the same time. 

Second, when I was thinking of a bas relief, my thoughts immediately went to something like this. 

It wasn't until the end of the conversation, that she mentioned it was a bronze. At that point, I knew exactly where it was. I ran downstairs and took some pictures of Dr. George H. Rohé (1851-1899). He was president of MedChi in 1893-94, amongst many other accomplishments.

The bronze is by local sculptor, Ephriam Keyser, who was a contemporary of Dr. Rohé. 

It is signed at the bottom: Ephriam Keyser Fec 1901. Fec is short for fecit, which means "made by", and is often found on works of art. 

The bronze plaque was presented to the Faculty on May 23, 1901 by the Maryland Public Health Association where Rohé was President at the time of his death.  

What I Found on My Desk: Isaac Ridgeway Trimble

I guess that should really read who I found on my desk. It’s a small commemorative paperweight for Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, the surgeon. He was born in 1860 and died very young, in 1908.

Isaac Ridgeway Trimble was born at Wye House in Talbot County, Maryland on October 10, 1860. He was a member of an old Maryland family whose roots extended back to the early days of Maryland’s founding. He was the grandson of Major General Isaac R. Trimble, a hero of the Confederate Army. He was educated at Shenandoah Valley Academy and Johns Hopkins University. He received his M.D. from University of Maryland in 1884.

Dr. Trimble was a Resident Physician at the University Hospital, 1884-85; Assistant Surgeon, Fifth Regiment of Maryland National Guard from 1889 to 1899; Surgeon, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, from 1890 until his death; Professor of Anatomy and Operative and Clinical Surgery, Woman's Medical College, Baltimore, 1891-99; Dean, Woman's Medical College, 1894-96; Lecturer on Clinical Surgery, University of Maryland, 1894-99; Professor of Anatomy and Clinical Surgery, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, 1899-; Surgeon in Chief, United Railway and Electric Company of Baltimore.

Dr. Trimble was a member of many of the influential clubs and societies in Baltimore during his lifetime. He also had a large and influential medical practice, and gave what spare time he had to the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty. He died young from blood poisoning following surgery on an inflamed kidney on February 24, 1908. A lecture series was later established in his name, and from the program comes this explanation:

Oddly, there’s no information about Dr. Trimble in the Medical Annals of Maryland, although he would have fit in the 100+ year time-frame of the book.

The plaque or medal or paperweight is quite small, about 3x2.5 inches. It looks to be bronze and is beautifully detailed. He had quite a striking profile. If you look just behind Trimble’s shoulder, you can make out the words, J.M. Miller, 1916. I am informed by my sources that this is Joseph Maxwell Miller (1887-1933), a sculptor living and working in Baltimore at that time. Here’s a little information that I gleaned from the Archives of American Art:

Miller received his diploma from the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of Mechanical Arts in 1897; two awards, an Honorable Mention from the Society of French Artists, Salon 1902 and Silver Medal from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri, 1904; sculptor of the monument to the Confederate Women of Maryland;

Biographical/Historical Note: Sculptor; Baltimore, Maryland. Received his early art education at the Maryland Institute where he won the Rinehart scholarship to study in France. He showed at the Salon des Artistes and was made officer of the Academie Francais. He was a member of the National Sculpture Society and the Charcoal Club. He is buried in Green Mount Cemetary in Baltimore.