RCS Conserve Our Collections

Conserve OUR

Collections 2016

Diary of a Resurrectionist

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The Royal College of Surgeons of England’s ‘Conserve our Collections’ Programme

Welcome

Contents Welcome 3 Collections Review Project: Identifying Conservation Priorities 4 Treasures of the Museum

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Treasures of the Archives

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Opulent Anatomy: d’Agoty and the Birth of Colour Printing

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Our Annual Event

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At the Conservators

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A

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Since 2013, together we have raised £20,700 and with those funds we

Items in Need

warm welcome to our annual round-up of Conserve our Collections news and activities, and thank you very much indeed for your help this past year.

have been able to conserve 12 Archives, 23 Books and 11 Objects and Specimens. There are, however, many treasures waiting for support.

A selection is of thesare listed on our website; if you have a particular interest you wish to support that does not appear in this list, please do get in touch with us.

We have begun to feature items that have returned from conservation in the RCS Library Blog. The first ‘Back from the Binders’ blogpost featured Francis Mason’s Cleft Lip and Palate (1877) and we hope to do more as a means to keep you informed throughout the year.

The contents of this newsletter testify eloquently the real difference you have helped us make in bringing objects, books and archives back to life. We also feature a ground-breaking pan-domain collections review project which was funded by Arts Council England, which will enable us to develop a long term preservation strategy.

Cover image: Image from Tabulae instrumentarii chirurgici, oder Abbildungen der gebräuchlichsten chirurgischen und geburtshülflichen Instrumente (‘Images of the most common surgical and obstetrical instruments’), Julius Leo, 1824.

As far as we know, RCS holds the only surviving copy of this work in the UK.

We look forward to showing you more of our treasures at our event on 16 November 2016.

Thalia Knight Director of Library & Surgical Information Services

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Collections Review Project: Identifying Conservation Priorities Beth Astridge - Collections Review Project Manager

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he collections review project ran from 2014 to 2016 and was funded by the Arts Council Designation Development Fund. The project involved the assessment of all our library,

museum and archive collections consisting of over 100,000 books and periodicals, over 50,000 museum objects and specimens, and over 2,500 boxes of archive material. The review looked at standards and practice in collections management and assessed how the collections are being used.

We used an adaptable methodology to set out the different categories and criteria against which we wanted to measure our collections. The collections were broken down into ‘units’ for assessment (in most cases one shelf meant one unit). Each unit was assessed on 8 different aspects of collections management including security, emergency planning, storage area, packaging and display, environmental control, Example from an anatomical atlas published in 1907 by John McGregor-

condition, ownership and documentation; and 5 different aspects of

Robertson, with flaps to illustrate internal structures. (Ref: C.AZ / MCGR)

collections usage including audience appeal, use in education and training, use in research and enquiry, significance and current access.

Identifying Conservation Priorities

Each unit was scored according to criteria within these areas so that

One of the benefits of the collections review project is that the data

for each there was a rating of 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest). The scores were

collected has provided us with evidence of where improvements need

recorded into spread sheets for each storage area with scores colour

to be made in relation to how the collection is managed and cared

coded, green to red, to enable clear analysis. The data was analysed to

for. Collections managers have been provided with recommendations

reveal where we hold collections of high significance or use, compared

for action that will be incorporated into our departmental five-year

against where we hold items needing attention in storage, packaging

collections management plans. Some of these recommendations can

or physical condition for example. Each storage area received a report

be acted on immediately, and others integrated into long term planning

analysing the collected data and supplying recommendations for action.

aligned with available resources.

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Manuscript sketch of a skeleton from a volume dated 1815 entitled The

Examples of butterflies from the Himalaya in the Quekett microscope slide

Bones. The author and artist are unknown. (Ref: MS0476)

collection (Ref: RCSMS/Quekett)

One category of particular relevance to the Conserve our Collections

monitoring programme should be established. We will be taking action to

programme was category ‘J – Condition.’ This category allowed us to

ensure that all our collections are regularly monitored to assess their condition

assess our collections for their physical condition looking at whether items

over time, so that deterioration and damage can be identified as early as possible.

were complete and stable; identifying unstable, hazardous or damaged items; identifying whether cleaning or interventive conservation was

The review data also highlighted the location of some of our most

needed before items could be further used; and assessing whether there

vulnerable material, which will in most cases have been given a score of

was a regular condition monitoring programme in place.

4 or 5. Collections managers will be working to systematically identify those items needing conservation treatment and prioritise their treatment

The review revealed that in general the results for condition were positive

according to need and available resource. Items prioritised as being most

with the majority of collections scoring 3, indicating that most items are

in need of treatment are highly likely to be added to the items requiring

complete, stable and in an acceptable condition to be used for research.

conservation within the Conserve our Collections programme.

One key recommendation as a result of the project is that across all the

Please do get in touch if you would like any further information about the

collections in the library, museums and archives, a regular condition

process or findings of the review by emailing bastridge@rcseng.ac.uk.

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Treasures of the Museum Bruce Simpson - Curator

Thomas Dimsdale’s lancets and case

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his eye-catching lancet set was owned by the physician

however for his association with smallpox inoculation. The practise,

Thomas Dimsdale (1712 – 1800). It was manufactured

which involved infecting a person with a small dose of the disease

by the surgical instrument makers Joseph Wood and Co

using either a needle or a lancet, was bought to Britain in the 1720’s

of York. The wooden case is covered with a vivid green polished

by Lady Mary Wortley Montague, wife of the British ambassador to

shagreen, and the lancets themselves have pivoting tortoise-shell

Turkey. The procedure grew in popularity through the eighteenth

guards which close to cover the blade.

century, and Dimsdale was an active proponent. In 1767 he published The Present Method of Inoculation for the Small Pox, and

Thomas Dimsdale’s career was incredibly varied. He practised as

in 1768 he was invited to inoculate the Empress Catherine and her

a military surgeon in the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, worked as a

son, the Grand Duke Paul. For this service he was reputedly paid a

banker, and latterly was MP for Hertford. He is best remembered

considerable sum of money.

A manuscript note attached to one side of the case details its ownership and provenance. Sadly a further note affixed to the other side describing the lancets association with Dimsdale’s time in Russia was lost in the mid-twentieth century. Fortunately a transcript of the note survives in our catalogue. It reads: “The fee of fees, however, was that received by Dr. Dimsdale in 1768 for inoculating the Empress Catherine and her son at Petersburg. It consisted of £12,000 paid down, a pension of £500 a year for life, and the dignity of a baron of the empire.”

This object has an interesting association with another piece in the RCS collection, a portrait of Omai, by William Hodges (1744 – 1797).

Omai, or more properly Mai, from Huahine near Tahiti was brought to England in 1774 by Lieutenant Tobias Furneaux on HMS Adventure. He was introduced to London society, presented to George III and Queen Charlotte, and inoculated by Dimsdale. The portrait was owned by John Hunter, and displayed in his Leicester Square museum.

Both the lancet set, and the portrait of Omai, are on display in our current temporary exhibition in the Hunterian Museum, Vaccination: Medicine and the masses which runs until the 17th September 2016.

Omai, a Polynesian by William Hodges (1744-1797), c.1775 (RCSSC/P 241)

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Lancet set owned by Thomas Dimsdale (1712–1800), (RCSIC/X 11)

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Treasures from the Archives Louise King - Archivist

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n the archives there is a small collection of sketches that has long

The sketches include some notable figures:

been known as the “heads of murders”. These sketches are the work

John Head and John Bishop who, along with James May, were

of William Clift (1775-1849) and his son William Home Clift (1803-

found guilty at the Old Bailey on 5th December 1831of the murder

1832), both conservators in the College museum and talented illustrators.

of “the Italian Boy” Carlo Ferrier. The three body snatchers were

They show the heads of those bodies which, prior to the 1832 Anatomy

accused of supplying anatomy schools in London with suspiciously

Act, were allocated to the College for dissection demonstrations as well

fresh bodies for dissection. They became known as “The London

as those which were only given an initial “post-mortem” here before

Burkers” because their crimes were likened to the notorious Burke

being passed to an anatomy school or teacher in London.

and Hare killings in Edinburgh three years earlier.

Sketch of John Bishop, 5th December 1831

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Elizabeth Ross executed at Newgate on 9th January 1832

John Bellingham executed at Newgate on 18th May 1812

Elizabeth Ross who was executed at Newgate on 9th January

John Bellingham who was executed at Newgate on 18th May 1812

1832 for the murder, or “burking”, of Elizabeth Walsh (or Welsh)

for shooting the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval in the chest as he

on 19th August 1831. She persuaded the old woman to lodge with

walked through the House of Commons. Bellingham’s grievance had

her, drugged her and then asphyxiated her. Ross was testified

been lack of compensation for false imprisonment for debt in Russia.

against by her eleven year old son who witnessed her hold her

Perceval is, perhaps surprisingly, the only Prime Minister to have been

hand over the woman’s mouth. His father was acquitted of aiding

assassinated. In accompanying notes, Clift records that the body was

and abetting.

then given to a Mr Stanley, a pupil at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

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Opulent Anatomy: d’Agoty and the Birth of Colour Printing Dorothy Fouracre - Collections Librarian

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ne of the most remarkable items in the Library’s collections

not at medical professionals but the luxury market. D’Agoty intended

is Jacques Fabien Gautier d'Agoty’s 1759 work, Exposition

the plates to be varnished, at extra cost, so that they seemed like oil

anatomique de la structure du corps humain en vingt

paintings (another innovation), and therefore even more luxurious.

planches imprimées avec leur couleur naturelle… (‘Anatomical

Indeed, the work is not always scientifically accurate, and the colour

exposition of the structure of the human body in twenty plates,

printing process was not able to render detail fine enough to be of

printed with their natural colour…’). Noteworthy not only for its

use to students of anatomy. Instead, d’Agoty’s work is a ‘spectacular

striking images, rarity and enormous size, it also represents a key

object’, representative of the Age of Enlightenment when educated

moment in the history of printing and anatomical illustration.

people took a broad interest in science.

D’Agoty worked briefly under the printmaker Jacob Le Blon in 1738. Le

Because the quality of the images produced in the mezzotint process

Blon was a pioneer of colour printing, inventing the colour mezzotint

declines the more the plates are used, it is likely that only around 100

process, which involved making three different copperplate impressions

copies of this work were ever made. Today, therefore, it is extremely

with blue, yellow, and red inks, one after the other. When he died two

rare, with only one other copy identified in the UK, at the University

years later, however, d’Agoty managed to acquire his royal privilege

of Edinburgh. The RCS copy is unusual, too, in that the plates have

and title of inventor of colour printing, claiming to have added a fourth

been joined to make full, fold-out images over 140cm long, rather than

colour – black – to the process. Although there is some debate as to

being bound sequentially. Around a dozen further copies are listed in

whether Le Blon had already used a black plate, d’Agoty was the first

Europe and North America, several of which, like the RCS copy, are sadly

to have any commercial success with it, going on to print a series of

incomplete. The Library also holds four other titles produced by D’Agoty,

anatomical and natural history illustrations.

which, although smaller in size, contain similarly arresting images.

These works are more common in other libraries, but RCS’ holdings of

Exposition anatomique is perhaps the most striking of d’Agoty’s

his works are only matched by the National Library of France and the

creations. The dark tones resulting from the use of the black plate

Interuniversity Library of Medicine in Paris.

coupled with the figures’ extraordinary compositions give the plates a dramatic and surreal quality. The female figures’ heads are intact

The RCS Exposition anatomique is fragile and in need of conservation

and healthy, their hair carefully styled. Two of the figures show

work before it can be displayed or used by researchers. Although

dissections from the back, which is very unusual – it could have

the text pages are in comparatively good condition, some of the

been that the fronts of these cadavers on whose dissections d’Agoty

valuable plates are damaged and have previously been poorly

based his work were too damaged or decomposed to use. The new

repaired. The Library is currently seeking professional opinion on

technology involved in its manufacture along with its size would have

what work is needed, and although it cannot yet estimate how

made the volume phenomenally expensive to buy, and it was aimed

much this will cost, it is sure to be an extraordinary amount.

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Image of woman legs akimbo: Plates 9 and 10 show a typically surreal

Image of man’s back: The glossy quality of the varnished pages is clearly seen

composition by d’Agoty. The female subject’s expression is serene whilst her

in this image of plates 13 and 14, which show an unusual back dissection. The

dissected baby and uterus are laid out before her.

poor condition of the plates is also evident.

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Our Annual Event

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ur Annual Event was held on November 18th 2015. It was our 3rd annual evening event where guests enjoyed a glass of wine, canapés and the rare opportunity to view some

prize pieces from our collections both those in need of conservation and items now safely restored thanks to supporters of the scheme. The guest speaker was medical historian Kirsty Chilton who enlightened the audience on the body snatchers and the Joseph Naples diary.

Our expert heritage team were available to answer the many questions our visitors had about the College’s Collections and guests had exclusive access to the Hunterian Museum. Items on display included Osteographia or Anatomy of the bones by William Cheselden and Hand coloured print showing amputations of the arm and leg, from Lorenz Heister's 'General System of Surgery'.

Don’t miss out!

Join us this year on Wednesday 16th November (6pm-8pm), where we will again have a guest speaker, wine and snacks and of course the chance to see some of the more interesting and valued items from our collections.

Invites to follow but to reserve your place now please email nextance-vaughan@rcseng.ac.uk.

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At the Conservators Easing the Tooth Ach by James Gilray (RCSSC)

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his intimate scene offers the contemporary viewer a fascinating snapshot of the period, featuring fashion, furniture and even a dental instrument. Most of all Gilray’s

lively characters remind us of the commonality of lived experience, collapsing the distance between us and our forebears.

Currently this work is in a lamentable state. The front section of the mount has been crudely removed, leaving a mess of adhesive and debris around the edge of the print. This material will be carefully removed by dampening and softening the hardened adhesive without damaging the margins. The board attached to the reverse will be removed in the same way. Once the engraving is released it will be cleaned in order to remove or at least reduce the adhesive staining and general oxidation.

Finally the engraving will be hinged into an acid free mount.

This work will vastly improve the appearance of this lovely print, enabling us to use it in future exhibitions.

Since the scheme launched in November 2013 there are now 46 items fully funded under this scheme including: -

Sir Henry Morris, Morris’s Human anatomy (1907)

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Museum letter book, series 1, vol 2, (1831-1850)

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A drawing of Charles Byrne, The Irish Giant, by Thomas Rowlandson, unsigned, 1782-3.

Easing the Tooth Ach by James Gilray (1756/7-1815), 1796 (RCSSC/P 3216)

This work will vastly improve the appearance of this lovely print, enabling us to use it in future exhibitions.

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Items in Need We have received invaluable support so far in our journey to conserve items from our collections, please take a look at the items below that are waiting to be looked after.

We have many other items in need of conservation. Please visit our website to find our more. www.rcseng.ac.uk/conserve-our-collections

Mark Catesby, The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands 2nd edition; 1754 Item ref: LIB24

Estimated cost: ÂŁ720

Subject Area: Botany/Herbals Description: Hunt describes the work as "The most famous colour-plate book of American plant and animal life... A fundamental and original work for the study of American species." Catesby as a young man studied the natural sciences in London and in 1712 travelled to Virginia, returning in 1719 with an extensive collection of plants. This collection attracted the attention of Sir Hans Sloane, who helped fund Catesby's second trip to Carolina, Georgia, Florida and the Bahamas from 1722 to 1729.

Back in London, he prepared his natural history of the region, drawing a map from his own knowledge and engraving the majority of the plates to reduce the costs of his venture. The first edition was issued

by Catesby in parts, completed in 1747, and was the earliest coloured book on American birds. Its popularity was such that a second edition was required within five years of his death, undertaken by George Edwards and printed for C. Marsh, T. Wilcox and B. Stichall in 1754.

Treatment required: There are 2 volumes. Each volume will need to be pulled down; sections will need to be repaired for re-sewing. To be rebound in half leather, lettered and with new acid-free endpapers.

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Surgical instrument set c.1820 Item Ref: MUS08

Estimated cost: ÂŁ1,500

Description: This set, made by Evans of London, contains instruments for amputation and trepanation - two of the most commonly performed operations in the early nineteenth-century. Almost complete, it comprises of an amputation saw and amputation knives, a metacarpal saw, a screw tourniquet, curved needles, artery forceps, bone cutting forceps, spring skull forceps, a skull saw, a trephine with detachable handle, and a bone brush. The instruments are held within in a fitted walnut case lined with red velvet.

Treatment required: The wooden cases needs repairing, by reattaching detached side, repairing both hinges, supporting the loose catch and stabilising the top of lid (which is separating from sides). Extensive cleaning is then necessary: the exterior of the wooden case, the velvet interior and the individual instruments. A conservation-grade coating will then be applied to the steel instruments.

Contract for materials and works for erection of a new museum and other buildings, 1852 Item Ref: ARC10

Estimated cost: ÂŁ460

Description: This contract between the College and Messrs Charles Thomas Lucas and Thomas Lucas gives detailed specifications and schedule of prices for materials and works for erection of a new museum and other buildings including new lecture theatres and the assistant conservator’s house.

Treatment required: The parchment is heavily creased from being rolled and flattened. Many of the pages are extremely dirty. Each page will need to be surface cleaned as well as flattened, as far as is possible. The document can then be safely rolled around an archival tube, covered and put into an archival box.

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Conserve OUR

Collections The Collections have been divided into three areas: Archives, Books and Objects, and Specimens. You are welcome to select an item from any of these areas that you would like to see restored to its former glory.

You can visit our website to view the items, read about their history, and find out about the conservation work required and how much it will cost to achieve it.

Don’t want to choose an item? Then please support our conservation scheme generally and your gift will go wherever it’s needed most.

Please complete and return the donation form included with this magazine.

Some of the supporter benefits you receive when contributing to the Conserve our Collections scheme are: • Annual magazine • • Certificate • • Listing in an online register of supporters • • Invitations to exclusive events • To view all the items available for conservation visit www.rcseng.ac.uk/conserve-our-collections Development Office The Royal College of Surgeons of England FREEPOST WC5162/2 London WC2A 3PE Thank you for your support.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England Registered charity no 212808 www.rcseng.ac.uk

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