Category Archives: Special Collections

Posts related to any special collections held by any UCL library.

In Honor of Joseph F. Kowalewski

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By: Richard A. Puff and Nathan A. Hood

Joseph F. Kowalewki (1)

Joseph F. Kowalewski.
This photograph serves as a link to a video interview of
Dr. Kowalewski conducted by Jim Myers in 1986.

CINCINNATI—On June 23, 2015, The University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved renaming the Health Professions Building as Joseph F. Kowalewski Hall in honor of the former dean of the university’s pharmacy school.

Kowalewski served as dean of the College of Pharmacy from 1949 to 1970. He was the last dean of the school when it was the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy school which first opened in 1850. Kowalewski also directed the merger of the school with the University of Cincinnati in 1954 to become the university’s 13th college. The college was renamed the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy in 2007.

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Weight Not Measured in Pounds: “Fischerisms.”

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By Nathan Hood

Fischer 1912 Faculty Photo

Dr. Martin H. Fischer, faculty photo from 1912.

Scientist, professor, author, artist – at the time of his death in 1962, the wealth of Dr. Martin H. Fischer’s experiences had him regarded by some to be a kind of ‘universal man.’ Who was Dr. Martin H. Fischer? The overwhelming prevalence of dates, research, and other such facts are often too impersonal and superficial to reveal much about the deeper character of this impressive person. Fortunately, there still exist copies of a booklet too ironically and deceptively inconspicuous for the enormous significance of the information it contains: Fischerisms.

Fischerisms is a compilation of Dr. Fischer’s various aphorisms first brought together by Howard Fabing with the aid of Albert Flagge and first published by the Medical College Bookstore, University of Cincinnati, in 1930. Continue reading →

Vaccination Efforts from Around the Globe: The Story of Dr. Sabin and Dr. Harshavardhan

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Dr.

Dr. Harshavardhan (1969)

By: Dr. G. V. J. A. Harshavardhan and Nathan Hood

Dr. Albert Bruce Sabin’s extremely influential role in the development and production of an Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) simply cannot be disputed; however, information on the precise details of his contributions are not always as well-known or as accessible as one would hope. Fortunately, The Winkler Center for the History of Health Professions’ NEH-funded project to digitize many of Dr. Sabin’s papers has now reached researchers around the globe. Several months ago, the project attracted the delighted attention of Dr. Harshavardhan, a vaccinologist in India, and the exchange of information since has been enlightening for both sides.

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Wisdom on The Walls of The Old College of Medicine

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By: Nathan Hood

fischer edited

Portrait of Dr. Martin H. Fischer,
undated

Dr. Martin H. Fischer designed many of the interior, decorative elements in and around his lecture hall located within the University of Cincinnati’s old College of Medicine. The majority of these ornaments were engravings expertly crafted by Dr. Fischer’s technical assistant and friend, Josef Kupka. Mr. Kupka was Dr. Fischer’s assistant for thirty years, from 1912 to 1942. He served Dr. Fischer for the greater part of the former’s active career as a professor of physiology at the University of Cincinnati.

It has been suggested that Dr. Fischer conceived the idea for the engravings after recognizing how the daily quotations he shared with his classes interested and inspired his students. However, the idea was only realized after his place of instruction was moved from the University’s Cunningham Hall to the newly constructed College of Medicine building in 1917. Continue reading →

The Stained Glass Windows of Dr. Martin H. Fischer’s Lecture Hall

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By: Nathan Hood

Close-up.
A variation of the University’s
coat of arms remains in the
Health Professions building.

In the University of Cincinnati’s modern- looking Health Professions building, the students in Room 231 have the odd privilege of enjoying several beautifully old, stained glass windows. The windows are reminiscent of a time before the renovations, when the building was the University’s College of Medicine. In the past, one of these rooms served as the physiology lecture hall, initially overseen by Dr. Martin H. Fischer. That intriguing space once featured the entire Cantagalli Pharmacy installation, numerous symbolic engravings, and leather orchestra chairs; but the stained glass windows of that old classroom and the neighboring library are an interesting story by themselves.
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Dr. Martin H. Fischer and The Cantagalli Pharmacy

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By: Nathan Hood

Major renovations of the University of Cincinnati’s previous College of Medicine building, now the Health Professions building, led to The Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions’ acquisition of numerous, intricately decorated artifacts altogether known as The Cantagalli Pharmacy. The entire collection represents a precise imitation of a 15th-16th Century Italian Apothecary and originally functioned as an exhibit for the 1900 Paris Exposition.

15th-century pharmacy Cantagalli II

The Cantagalli Pharmacy in its Exposition configuration.
This photo also serves as a link to film footage from the 1900 Paris Exposition.

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Elliston Poetry Lecture, February 27, 2015, Mary Szybist

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The next reading in the Elliston Reading Series will be by poet Mary Szybist.

February 27, 2015 4:00 PM, Elliston Poetry Room, 646 Langsam Library

Mary Szybist is most recently the author of Incarnadine, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Poetry. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, the Witter Bynner Foundation in conjunction with the Library of Congress, and the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center. Her work has appeared in such publications as Best American Poetry, The Kenyon Review, Poetry, Ploughshares, and two Pushcart Prize anthologies. Her first book, Granted, won the 2004 GLCA New Writers Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, she now lives in Portland, Oregon where she teaches at Lewis & Clark College.

Look for recordings of this presentation soon in the digital collection, The Elliston Project: Poetry Readings and Lectures at the University of Cincinnati.

Learn more about Events sponsored by the Elliston Poetry Fund.

Check Out the Latest Issue of Source, UC Libraries Newsletter

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sourceRead the online newsletter to learn more about the development of UC’s digital repository, why UC’s colors are red and black, and more news from UC Libraries.

This latest issue of Source includes updates on the Libraries’ Strategic Plan, with an overview of digital humanities and news on the development of UC’s digital repository, which makes accessible, enables re-use, stores, organizes and preserves the full range of the institution’s intellectual output, including scholarly, historical and research materials. Also featured are stories about providing access to the Libraries special collections, a new exhibit highlighting the top illustrated children’s books, and the librarians, staff and students of UC Libraries giving thanks.

Source online is available on the web at http://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/source/ and via e-mail. To receive Source online via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.

Oesper News: Dr. Jensen Explains the Blowpipe in Wired Article

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Dr. William Jensen explains “The Strange Blowpipe 19th Century Miners Used to Analyze Ore” in the Wired article at  http://www.wired.com/2014/08/crazy-blowpipe-apparatus/#slide-id-1232521.

For more topics like these from the history of chemistry visit the Oesper Collections at http://digital.libraries.uc.edu/oesper/.