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Philadelphia General Hospital Osler Memorial Committee and Blockley Historical Museum miscellaneous records
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Held at: College of Physicians Historical Medical Library [Contact Us]19 South 22nd St., Philadelphia, PA, 19103
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the College of Physicians Historical Medical Library. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The Osler Memorial Committee was formed in October 1939. The committee was appointed by David Riesman, President of the Medical Board of the Philadelphia General Hospital. The original members of the committee were chairman Robert J. Hunter, William G. Turnbull, and William E. Hughes; Riesman was an ex officio member. Later in the year, Marion Hague Rea, Abraham Cohen, William N. Bradley, and Jefferson H. Clark were selected to serve on the Osler Memorial Committee.
The committee held its first official meeting on December 6, 1939. The objective of the committee was to create a museum and memorial to Sir William Osler in the old autopsy house of the Philadelphia General Hospital and to organize a ceremony marking the dedication of the building. The dedication ceremony was held on June 8, 1940; in association with the dedication, the committee commissioned artist Dean Cornwell to paint a portrait of Osler. Cornwell's painting, "Osler at Old Blockley," had its premiere showing at the dedication. The committee also organized a special dinner for ex residents of the Philadelphia General Hospital, which was held on December 3, 1940.
After the completion of its duties, the Osler Memorial Committee was discharged in December 1940. At this time, it was decided that a new committee, the Osler Memorial and Blockley Historical Museum Committee, would be appointed to oversee the daily administration of the museum.
This collection contains a small number of documents from several accessions. These documents appear to be duplicative to other collections held by the College of Physicians Historical Medical Library regarding the Osler Memorial Committee and Blockley Historical Museum.
Researchers will find that the majority of this material relates to Osler, but there is also some information regarding the museum’s foundation and subsequent events such as the Association of Ex Residents and Resident Physicians, the Blockley Nine Reunion, and dedication of the Osler Memorial Building.
Materials transferred from the Mutter Museum on December 4, 1989. All items on permanent loan to the College of Physicians from the City of Philadelphia.
The creation of the electronic guide for this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
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- College of Physicians Historical Medical Library
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- The creation of the electronic guide for this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
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This collection is open for research use.
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Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the College of Physicians Historical Medical Library with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.