Category Archives: Winkler Center

African American Physicians in Cincinnati: Past, Present, & Future

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The Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions and the University of Cincinnati Libraries are proud to sponsor the 2017 annual Cecil Striker Lecture and exhibit.  This year the program is entitled African American Physicians in Cincinnati: Past, Present & Future and features an inter-generational panel discussing challenges faced in the early integration of all-White hospitals and medical colleges, holding those doors open for others, the current state of African American physicians, and many other topics.

A corresponding exhibit chronicling the history not only of African Americans in the health professions in Cincinnati, but also, the history of health care opportunities for African Americans in the city opens on the same date.

We hope you can make it for this enlightening discussion and exhibit. Click on the invitation at right for more information and to RSVP.

In the meantime enjoy some images from the exhibit.

The Ohio Medical College: Collotype, Chromolitho, or Hand-colored Silver Gelatin

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Old Print, Medical College of Ohio, c. 1852

Huh?

A researcher recently asked if we had any images of the first building to house the Medical College of Ohio. Turns out we do not. Or if we do, we’re not sure where to find them. That said, we did find a beautiful image of the Medical College when it was on Sixth Street near Vine in downtown Cincinnati.

Daniel Drake founded the Medical College of Ohio in 1819 in Cincinnati and it has the distinction of being the oldest medical college west of the Allegheny Mountains. In addition, it is the second-oldest public college of medicine in the United States. The first classes at the college were held above a pharmacy reportedly owned by Drake himself. Drake left the school in 1823 and a series of different locations for the college followed.

In 1852, the college built on property it had purchased on Sixth Street and it would stay at this new address for the next forty-four years. As many already know, the Medical College of Ohio eventually became, along with the Miami Medical College, the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

So that ‘s the very brief story of the school depicted in the photograph, but what about the image itself. At least for us at the Winkler Center it is rare to come across a photograph this old with so much color. Unfortunately the image is in a very nice frame along with two other images pertaining to Drake. Since we are unaware of the item’s provenance we are reluctant to remove the images from the frame. If we could, it would be easy to see what kind of image specifically it is.

As the Archivist/Curator here, I am by no means an expert on photographic processes of the 19th century, so I consulted with some friends who are.  The answers I have been given are:

A) If the photo is post-1880s, it could be a hand-colored silver gelatin print. Under a microscope I would see no paper fibers in the photo. For more info on silver gelatin prints see http://www.graphicsatlas.org/guidedtour/?process_id=337.

If it was done prior to 1880, say during the 1870s, it could be a printing process that was hand colored.  Under magnification perhaps we would see the worm like pattern of the collotype print. http://www.graphicsatlas.org/guidedtour/?process_id=168? Or maybe a letterpress halftone checkered pattern.(http://www.graphicsatlas.org/guidedtour/?process_id=102)?

Regardless, it looks like we won’t find out until we remove it from the frame and put it under a microscope. In the meantime we’ll just enjoy it for what it is, a great, colorful piece of history. We’ll keep you posted.

Annual Cecil Striker Society Lecture May 4 to Highlight African American Doctors in Cincinnati

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cecil striker

The Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions and the Cecil Striker Society for the History of Medicine will host the Cecil Striker Society Annual Lecture from 5-7:30 p.m. on Thurs, May 4, in the Kresge Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building, 231 Albert Sabin Way.

This year’s lecture will consist of a panel discussion by prominent African American physicians and is titled “African American Physicians in Cincinnati: Past, Present and Future.”  Moderated by Dr. Elbert Nelson, the panelists will include Drs. Chester Pryor, Charles Dillard, Camille C. Graham and Christopher Lewis.

The evening will include the talk from 5-6 p.m., followed by Q&A and a reception at 6:30 p.m. In addition, an exhibit of the same name will be on display in the Lucas Board Room in the Winkler Center.

The Cecil Striker Lecture is free and open to the public, but RSVP’s are requested to (513) 558-5120 or chhp@uc.edu. Continue reading →

What do Pearl Jam and the Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions have in common?

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Not much I can assure you.  That said, recently we were performing a large scale book move to make room for newly cataloged monographs when I stumbled upon the book in the image below.

Vitalogy by E. H. Ruddock, M. D.

It was the cover that caught my eye because it seemed immediately familiar. Within a split second I realized that the cover of the book in question looked exactly like the cover of my favorite album by the band Pearl Jam.

Wait a second?  “Who’s Pearl Jam” you may be asking yourself. That’s OK. They are a rock and roll band from Seattle that broke around 1992. Released on Epic Records in the fall of 1994,Vitalogy was the band’s third album.  And as I’ve just found out, the title of a book.

Vitalogy Cover

I didn’t know it when the record was released, but the band chose the title because the lead singer/songwriter of the group, Eddie Vedder, saw the volume at a garage sale, liked it’s title, design, font, etc., and purchased it. He later showed it to the rest of the band and it soon became the title of the new album. The Vitalogy album/CD cover mimicked the cover of the book and original text from the book was used to populate the album’s liner notes.

 

Text

Textual diagram

So what about the book?  Vitalogy, An Encyclopedia of Health and Home Adapted for the Home, the Layman, and the Family by E. H. Ruddock, M.D. was first published in 1899; the edition we have is from 1926. Biblical in proportion it contains 1004 pages full of holistic cures, medical advice and proverbial wisdom. In addition, it is full of incredibly detailed and intricate color illustrations and fold outs.

Example of some of the detailed color foldouts

Glancing through its pages, one can imagine Vitalogy at home in any aisle of a Whole Foods or a Sprouts Market–the book that is, though I’m sure the album would do well there too.

 

2017 Cecil Striker Lecture – Save the Date

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Below is the Save the Date for the Winkler Center’s Cecil Striker Annual Lecture.  The lecture is titled African American Physicians in Cincinnati:  Past, Present and Future and will focus on the contributions, challenges and professional achievements of African American health care professionals from the University of Cincinnati as well as the Cincinnati region. This year instead of one lecturer we will feature a panel of four individuals who are retired or current African American physicians. The Henry R. Winkler Center Advisory Board Members, as well as faculty and staff of the Winkler Center are very excited about this upcoming event.  

Check Out the Latest Issue of Source

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Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn more about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

This latest issue of Source includes interviews with Dean Xuemao Wang about creating a Master Plan for library spaces as well as with May Chang about her role in the newly created position of library chief technology officer. Other articles include the announcement of a gift from the John Hauck Foundation for the digitization of Dr. Albert B. Sabin’s lab notebooks, the installation of two new exhibits of World War I illustrated sheet music, a listing of Spring events in UC Libraries, an update on recent staff accomplishments and a donor spotlight of Marjorie Motch. Read these articles and more.

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

Dean’s Corner: Remembering Dr. Henry Heimlich

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I first met Dr. Henry Heimlich, or “Hank”, shortly after I arrived at the University of Cincinnati. To my surprise, he had expressed a strong interest in meeting me, so I eagerly invited him to join me for dinner at my home, along with Associate Dean Emeritus Steve Marine, the libraries’ Director of Development Christa Bernardo and our respective spouses. It was then that I learned of his time as a surgeon with the US Naval Group in World War II. Hank had been stationed in China, and his first stop was my hometown of Chongqing.

Sharing dinner at my home with Hank Heimlich

Continue reading →

Smoking Permitted and No Tipping Allowed!?! Hospital Information for Overnight Patients, 1958

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The following post was written by Winkler Center assistant archivist, Nina Herzog.   All images courtesy of the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions

CGH  Informational Booklet, 1958.

 

Without a doubt, checking into and staying at hospitals is a lot different today than it was over a half century ago.  Computerized check-ins, televisions in rooms and bans on smoking, etc. have all improved the patient experience. The images below were taken from an informational booklet given to patients at the Cincinnati General Hospital (CGH) in 1958.

The instructive pamphlet titled, “Well Here I Am,” provides the incoming patient with information on subjects ranging from check in, dining hours, and visitor information to hospital maps, directions, and much more.

 

 

 

 

 

Continue reading →

The Passing of Henry Heimlich (1920-2016)

Gallery

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This gallery contains 7 photos.

The Winkler Center was saddened over the weekend to learn of the passing of Dr. Henry J. Heimlich. In lieu of writing another obituary or quick biography like the ones that can be read here at the Cincinnati Enquirer or … Continue reading →

But what about Robert Kehoe?

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Recently, Smithsonian.com published a brief article on the history of leaded

Dr. Robert Kehoe, Kettering Laboratory, UC, date unknown

gas.  The article, seen here, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/leaded-gas-poison-invented-180961368/, is informative though by no means exhaustive.  The story begins in 1920, 55 miles up I-75, in Dayton, Ohio, at the General Motors Research Corporation.  An engineer there, Thomas Midgely, and his boss, Charles F. Kettering, had developed an anti-engine knock additive called TEL or tetraethyllead.

At the time, “engine knock,” which was due to a malfunction between the fuel, air, and ignition explosion in a car’s cylinder, was at best a mild annoyance causing a light knocking sound and at worst a problem capable of destroying an automobile engine. Midgely’s solution was to add TEL to gasoline which would raise the combustability, or octane, of an engine lessening its chances of malfunctioning.

It worked.  Which was all well and good, but TEL contained lead, and as people have known for ages, lead isn’t particularly good for us.  In fact it’s rather deadly.  The author goes on to discuss the outcry that erupted after several workers died after being exposed to TEL on a regular basis.  A federal study was authorized in 1925 and it was decided that the amount of risk associated to every day exposure for most people was minimal and the production of leaded gasoline continued.  It was not until the 1970s that growing evidence over leaded gas’s danger became evident.  In January, 1996, the U.S. Clean Air act, officially banned the sale of leaded fuel for use in vehicles. Continue reading →