Article first published online: 20 MAY 2011
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06036.x/abstract
Volume 1225, S1 Resources and Technological Advances for Studies of Neurobehavioral Evolution pages E20–E29, May 2011
By Rebecca K. Sharp and Nancy L. Wing
National Archives Prologue Spring 2011, Vol. 44, No. 1
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2011/spring/bemis.html-for some reason, they didn't include Bemis' photograph from the Medical Museum, but here it is.
Detrick celebrates new partnership with National Museum of Health and Medicine
Originally published May 18, 2011
By Megan Eckstein
News-Post Staff
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=121305
Civil War general's severed leg on display in Md.
Associated Press May 16 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP9fb30fddfb344009b59122a8cb0b72d1.html
Post Hospital,
Fort Davis, Texas, May 13, 1881
Surgeon General USA
Washington, D.C.-Thro[sic] Medical Director Director Dept of Texas
General:
I have the honor to state that I have turned over to the quartermaster
at the post for transmission to the Army Medical Museum - one box -
containing a foetus of about 3 monthe growth delivered of a mule at this
station. The specimen was presented to me by First Lieutenant S.L.
Woodward 10th Calvary - who informed me that he was present at the
accouchment [sic] and that there could be no doubt about the facts in
the case.
The mother is a pack mule - age unknown belonging to Troop K 10th
Calvary - and the sire [word inserted] father a young Broncho Stallion -
which was allowed to run in the corral with the pack mules and had been
repeatedly noticed in attempts on this and other mules.
I have the honor to be
General
Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant
Harvey E. Brown
General U.S. Army
12th May 1885
Dr. Jno [sic] S. Billings,
Army Medical Museum,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
Your favor of the 8th inst to hand.
Photonegative arrived at our office this A.M. broken into a number of
pieces the enclosed roughed-out will show how the box was broken, the
boards being so thin that the expressmen must have put something heavy
on it + thus broken it in.
We would advise bracing thus [illustration] brace mail on lip crosswise
in about center of box.
Please let us know what you will do i.e. are we to expect another
negative-
Hoping to hear from you-
We remain-
Yours very truly
Crosscup and West Engraving Company
UMBC anthropologist Seth Messinger recently began a new collaborative
arts-based research project exploring the everyday lived experiences of
people who wear prosthetics. An illustrated announcement is at
goo.gl/o4dRw <http://goo.gl/o4dRw> , and we invite you to post this on
the Bottled Monsters blog if you'd like, or to share it with your
colleagues
April 28 2011
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/apps_embryo.html
The US National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world largest medical library and a component of the National Institutes of Health, has released "Embryo" (http://itunes.apple.com/app/embryo/id422337604), a new app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad.
Embryo is a collaborative project between the NLM, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), the Virtual Human Embryo Project (Louisiana State University/ http://virtualhumanembryo.lsuhsc.edu/) and the National Museum of Health & Medicine's Human Developmental Anatomy Center (http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/collections/hdac/).
The National Museum of Health & Medicine's Human Developmental Anatomy Center (HDAC) acquires and maintains collections pertaining to general developmental anatomy and neuroanatomy. Scientists and educators have used the National Museum of Health and Medicine's Carnegie Embryo Collection (http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/collections/hdac/Carnegie_collection.htm) to define normal human embryo development for decades. This archival collection was developed between approximately 1887 to 1956 and focuses on normal development in the first eight weeks. The Virtual Human Embryo database was created to provide digital serial sections of human embryos from the collection.
The Embryo app provides this collection of digital serial sections of early stage human embryos for mobile devices. Features include human fertilization videos, photo micrographs of early-stage embryo development, 2D and 3D digital images using visual stack dissections, and a pregnancy calculator.
Leipzig, May 6, 1885
Dear Sir [John Shaw Billings],
I am much obliged to you for the sending of the photographics (sic) of crania. The methods of photographing several heads upon the same plate with scale of measure added appears indeed to be of great interest. I have shown these plates to Dr. Emile Schmidt (formerly in Essen), whose collection, embracing 1300 nos. is to be placed in our institution.
I have myself, I am sorry to say, little time for craniological studies, as all my free time is devoted to embryology, but whenever I can help to promote craniology, I do so with pleasure. With regard to the specimens Prof. Braun (spelling?) has already written to you, I presume, that he had made for you a series of sections, ready to be forwarded, simply waiting for your directions. The sudden death of our dear president Panum has undoubtedly grieved you. He was in the position which he filled with so much conscientiousness, as if made for it and would have assisted you in the organization of the Congress in 1887, with his advice.
Very respectfully
W. His
Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C., May 5, 1880.
Dear Doctor Otis,
Charles Ruby, Private Co. D, 4th Infantry, Fort Laramie, says that while out between Hat Creek + Red Cloud Agency he passed the spot where the Cheyenne Indians two years ago made their last stand + nearly all were killed. He remarks that their skulls + bones lie scattered in all directions + will soon be lost. The thought occurred to him whether it would not be of interest to have some of these skulls collected.
Having called your attention to this subject, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
SF Baird
Dr Geo. A. Otis
Army Medical Museum.
Washington
Memorandum (written on reverse)
See letter of Dr. Carlos Carvallo, U.S.A., dated May 14, 1880, who states that as soon as possible he will go with a small detail in search of the skulls etc., alluded to within.
9 scrapbooks from the Army Community Service at Walter Reed with photographs of volunteers at the hospital and clippings on their activities came through the door yesterday. They cover from 1965 to 2005. They’ll be available as part of the WRAMC History Collection after the move is completed in the fall.
A contract for dismantling the exhibits and prepping the space for the move was granted this week, so yesterday Archives staff was working with Artex to move new material. As the AFIP closes, many departments transferred their photographic collections or historical books or other material to the Archives. We’ve filled about 20 pallets of material, and moved half of that to our existing warehouse yesterday – about 20,000 pounds of it. It should be the same today. The material will stay on pallets until it can be unpacked and arranged and processed in our new warehouse space.
Sleeping Beauties: Memorial Photographs from the Burns Collection
One of the defining images in this exhibition is the tintype of a father
lovingly holding an uncomfortable looking child. The father is
well-dressed and has an air of invincibility that is undermined only by
outsized, swollen fingers. His one hand rests demonstratively on his
knee and the other in a claw-like position distended beyond his son's
clothing rather than affectionately clasping the child. The image does
not cry out that either father or son is deceased, but the father's
fingers are so unnatural that one soon realizes that he is dead. This
portrait, likely the only one ever made of the two together, emphasizes
familial relationship and love as motivations behind the image. In
varying degrees, love, relationships, and grieving more than death, are
the central characteristics of this exhibition.
Another characteristic of the show, also as represented by the portrait
of the father and son, is the changing technology of photography. The
portrait is a tintype, a relatively affordable process in 1875 when the
image was made. Represented in the exhibition are various tintypes, but
also a whole spectrum of photographic processes from the 1840s to the
2000s, including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, albumen prints, cartes de
visite, cabinet cards, silver gelatin prints, and digitally generated
permanent pigment prints. The exhibition is a veritable history of
photography as seen through memorial photographs. Revealed is that the
look of death has not changed over time, only the way that it is
represented.
The show is organized by themes, including "Adults," "Children,"
"Sleep," "Family and Rituals," "Remembrances," "Images with Images,"
"Eyes Open," and "Decorative Displays." Each section is sequenced
historically to tell a story about the topic from the earliest to the
latest images. The father and son portrait, for example, is in the
section labeled "Adults," because it is the father who is deceased. The
section on "Children" tugs at one's heartstrings so much perhaps because
the images show cute, vulnerable little ones full of human potential not
to be realized. The "Sleep" section shows attempts to make the dead
look like they just happen to be napping. (In the nineteenth century,
death was frequently described as "the long last sleep.") Images of the
spent bodies of children with their eyes closed promote the illusion of
sleep as the children are laid out so naturally in carriages or on beds.
Additional sequences include the "Family and Rituals" section which
shows immediate and extended family members posed with the deceased,
usually in their coffins. These images, of course, would be the last
photographs of the family all together. The "Remembrances" section
includes memorial poem cabinet cards (sometimes with photographs on
them) and memorial ceramic photographs often used on memorial markers.
The Images with Images" section shows photographs with images of a
deceased one in them, or photographs with images associated with someone
who is deceased. This section will fascinate iconologist's, because the
images surrounding those of the dead often comment on and have
especially telling relationships to the dead. The "Eyes Open" section
highlights images that attempt to make the dead look natural and
somewhat as they did in life. Finally, there is the "Decorative
Displays" section which shows photographs of memorial centerpieces that
represent a way of setting off an image or expressing a reverence for
the deceased. Some decorative displays images are commercial, such as
the one for Abraham Lincoln. The imagery was intended for public
consumption for viewing in one's parlor. Others, such as "Tower of
Silence," were intended to be sold to tourists as they visited monuments
to the dead. Finally there were those with the words "Pater," or
"Sister" which were for personal and family purposes.
Photographs have three lives. The first life is the immediate purpose
for which the image was made. In the case of memorial photographs, the
image provides a record of the deceased, a way to express love and
relationship for that person, and to serve as part of the grieving
process. The second life of a photograph is as recent past nostalgia.
Friends and family can look back over time and remember the deceased as
well as good times that were had together. The third (and perhaps the
most important life) is as a communication over the generations. Long
after there is no one alive who remembers the deceased, memorial images
communicate to viewers that the person lived and was regarded highly
enough in life that people wished to remember them after death. Also
memorial images teach succeeding generations that all humanity is
related to each other and are the same in death. Perhaps most of all,
memorial photographs confer upon the dead a kind of immortality. Long
after they are gone, the deceased continue to live on in images. This
exhibition is about all of these things.
Tom Beck
Chief Curator
“…the noblest specimen of a young western man…” On May 2nd, 1863, during the battle of Chancellorsville, Private Cunningham, 82nd Ohio, received a gunshot wound to the right thigh that resulted in a compound fracture of the thigh. The bullet was extracted at Armory Square Hospital on June 15th. Extensive abscesses formed following the procedure, and on May 2nd, 1864, Cunningham’s leg was amputated. Although Bliss had hope for a successful outcome when he submitted the specimen to the Army Medical Museum on May 5th, Cunningham died on June 5th, 1864. Whitman, who cared for Cunningham, described the young man in a letter to his mother. "I have just left Oscar Cunningham, the Ohio boy—he is in a dying condition—there is no hope for him—it would draw tears from the hardest heart to look at him--his is all wasted away to a skeleton, & looks like some one fifty years old—you remember I told you a year ago, when he was first brought in, I thought him the noblest specimen of a young western man I had seen, a real giant in size, & always with a smile on his face—O what a change, he has long been very irritable, to every one but me, & his frame is all wasted away." Cunningham died on June 4, 1864, one month after Bliss had hoped that Cunningham might survive his amputation. Cunningham was one of the first soldiers to be buried in the new Arlington National Cemetery."
CANCELLED! Due to unforeseen circumstances, this program is cancelled!
Program will be rescheduled – stay tuned for details!
Questions? Call (202) 782-2673
Medical Museum’s Poetry Month Celebration!
Animal_Magnetism.jpg
CANCELLED -- When: Saturday, April 9, 2011, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
What: Join the Museum and poet/author Kim Roberts in celebration of National Poetry Month. Roberts will read from her new book of poetry, "Animal Magnetism," which features three poems about the Museum’s collections. After the reading, James Curley, Historical Collections Specialist, will provide a special glimpse of the Museum’s collections. (Museum exhibits are closed, as of 4/3/2011.) A book signing will follow the program. Copies of “Animal Magnetism” will be available for purchase.
Questions? Call (202) 782-2673 or email nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil.
National Museum of Health and Medicine
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Building 54, Washington, D.C. 20307
http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum --(202) 782-2672 – nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil
NMHM on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MedicalMuseum
NMHM on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MedicalMuseum
CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES! We apologize for the
inconvenience and regret that we have to make this change in our
programming. Please stay tuned for a future date when this program may
be held.
In spite of the Museum’s closing to move, the collections are still growing. Milton and Daniel Klein donated this 1929 set of Edinburgh Stereoscopic Anatomy which complements some earlier sets that we have.
Medical Museum’s Poetry Month Celebration!
An Afternoon of Poetry with Kim Roberts, author of "Animal Magnetism"
When: Saturday, April 9, 2011, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
What: Join the Museum and poet/author Kim Roberts in celebration of National Poetry Month. Roberts will read from her new book of poetry, "Animal Magnetism," which features three poems about the Museum’s collections. After the reading, James Curley, Historical Collections Specialist, will provide a special glimpse of the Museum’s collections. (Museum exhibits are closed, as of 4/3/2011.) A book signing will follow the program. Copies of “Animal Magnetism” will be available for purchase.
Cost: Free!
Where: Russell Auditorium, NMHM in Bldg 54, on the Walter Reed campus <http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/about/directions.html>
Questions? Call (202) 782-2673 or email nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil.
National Museum of Health and Medicine
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW, Building 54, Washington, D.C. 20307
http://www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum --(202) 782-2672 – nmhminfo@afip.osd.mil
NMHM on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MedicalMuseum
NMHM on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MedicalMuseum
MEDICAL MUSEUM TO CLOSE EXHIBITS ON APRIL 3, 2011
TO PREPARE FOR MOVE TO SILVER SPRING, MD
February 28, 2011, Washington, D.C.: As part of the relocation of the National Museum of Health and Medicine from its present location to its new home in Silver Spring, Maryland, exhibits at the present location will phase out over the coming weeks. The last day that the public may visit any exhibits at the Museum in its present location will be on Sunday, April 3, 2011. All of the Museum’s exhibits are expected to remain available to visitors through April 3, 2011.
The Museum is open to the public daily, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (including weekends and holidays), on the campus at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Admission and parking are free. Adults must present government-issued photo identification to gain entry to the Walter Reed campus, and vehicles are subject to search. Learn more about planning a visit to the Museum on the campus of Walter Reed at http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/planning/index.html.
NMHM will complete its relocation to the Forest Glen Annex during the summer of 2011 and looks forward to welcoming the public at its new location in the fall. Stay tuned to the Museum’s website, Facebook page and e-newsletter for details.
During this transition period, while the Museum is closed to the public at its present location on the Walter Reed campus, Museum public programs staff will be working to continue their activities at other locations in the Silver Spring, Md., area. Stay tuned to our website and Facebook page for details.
Questions should be directed to Tim Clarke, NMHM Deputy Director for Communications, (202) 782-2672.
About the National Museum of Health and Medicine
MEDICAL MUSEUM TO CLOSE EXHIBITS ON APRIL 3, 2011
TO PREPARE FOR MOVE TO SILVER SPRING, MD
February 28, 2011, Washington, D.C.: As part of the relocation of the National Museum of Health and Medicine from its present location to its new home in Silver Spring, Maryland, exhibits at the present location will phase out over the coming weeks. The last day that the public may visit any exhibits at the Museum in its present location will be on Sunday, April 3, 2011. All of the Museum’s exhibits are expected to remain available to visitors through April 3, 2011.
The Museum is open to the public daily, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (including weekends and holidays), on the campus at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Admission and parking are free. Adults must present government-issued photo identification to gain entry to the Walter Reed campus, and vehicles are subject to search. Learn more about planning a visit to the Museum on the campus of Walter Reed at http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/planning/index.html.
NMHM will complete its relocation to the Forest Glen Annex during the summer of 2011 and looks forward to welcoming the public at its new location in the fall. Stay tuned to the Museum’s website, Facebook page and e-newsletter for details.
During this transition period, while the Museum is closed to the public at its present location on the Walter Reed campus, Museum public programs staff will be working to continue their activities at other locations in the Silver Spring, Md., area. Stay tuned to our website and Facebook page for details.
Questions should be directed to Tim Clarke, NMHM Deputy Director for Communications, (202) 782-2672.
About the National Museum of Health and Medicine
MEDICAL MUSEUM TO CLOSE EXHIBITS ON APRIL 3, 2011
TO PREPARE FOR MOVE TO SILVER SPRING, MD
February 28, 2011, Washington, D.C.: As part of the relocation of the National Museum of Health and Medicine from its present location to its new home in Silver Spring, Maryland, exhibits at the present location will phase out over the coming weeks. The last day that the public may visit any exhibits at the Museum in its present location will be on Sunday, April 3, 2011. All of the Museum’s exhibits are expected to remain available to visitors through April 3, 2011.
The Museum is open to the public daily, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (including weekends and holidays), on the campus at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Admission and parking are free. Adults must present government-issued photo identification to gain entry to the Walter Reed campus, and vehicles are subject to search. Learn more about planning a visit to the Museum on the campus of Walter Reed at http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/planning/index.html.
NMHM will complete its relocation to the Forest Glen Annex during the summer of 2011 and looks forward to welcoming the public at its new location in the fall. Stay tuned to the Museum’s website, Facebook page and e-newsletter for details.
During this transition period, while the Museum is closed to the public at its present location on the Walter Reed campus, Museum public programs staff will be working to continue their activities at other locations in the Silver Spring, Md., area. Stay tuned to our website and Facebook page for details.
Questions should be directed to Tim Clarke, NMHM Deputy Director for Communications, (202) 782-2672.
About the National Museum of Health and Medicine
MEDICAL MUSEUM TO CLOSE EXHIBITS ON APRIL 3, 2011
TO PREPARE FOR MOVE TO SILVER SPRING, MD
February 28, 2011, Washington, D.C.: As part of the relocation of the National Museum of Health and Medicine from its present location to its new home in Silver Spring, Maryland, exhibits at the present location will phase out over the coming weeks. The last day that the public may visit any exhibits at the Museum in its present location will be on Sunday, April 3, 2011. All of the Museum’s exhibits are expected to remain available to visitors through April 3, 2011.
The Museum is open to the public daily, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (including weekends and holidays), on the campus at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Admission and parking are free. Adults must present government-issued photo identification to gain entry to the Walter Reed campus, and vehicles are subject to search. Learn more about planning a visit to the Museum on the campus of Walter Reed at http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/planning/index.html.
NMHM will complete its relocation to the Forest Glen Annex during the summer of 2011 and looks forward to welcoming the public at its new location in the fall. Stay tuned to the Museum’s website, Facebook page and e-newsletter for details.
During this transition period, while the Museum is closed to the public at its present location on the Walter Reed campus, Museum public programs staff will be working to continue their activities at other locations in the Silver Spring, Md., area. Stay tuned to our website and Facebook page for details.
Questions should be directed to Tim Clarke, NMHM Deputy Director for Communications, (202) 782-2672.
About the National Museum of Health and Medicine
