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The Manuscript Collection
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The manuscript collection, like the picture archives, owes its existence to Max Neuburger's lifelong dedication to collecting diverse medical artefacts. His acquisitions included diplomas, certificates, prescriptions, letters, medical expert opinions, curricula vitae, manuscripts, students' lecture notes and doctors' notebooks, (e.g. that of Johann Nepomuk Czermak, containing the handwritten notes of his laryngological findings). The manuscript of Carl von Rokitansky's "Lehrbuch der pathologischen Anatomie" and the proofs of "Die Cytoarchitektonik der Hirnrinde des erwachsenden Menschen" by Constantin von Economo, with his own handwritten corrections and comments, are amongst the numerous items of interest collected by Neuburger. Furthermore, the collection contains many letters, amongst which there is one written by Sigmund Freud thanking Wagner von Jauregg for congratulating him on the occasion of his 60th birthday. There are also letters written by Theodor Billroth, by Albrecht von Graefe, by Frans Cornelis Donders (to the Viennese oculist Ferdinand von Arlt) and even a letter penned by Alexander von Humboldt. The collection has been extensively enlarged by doctors' legacies, which were, to a large extent, already edited at the time they were donated. Thus, amongst numerous bequests incorporated into the manuscript collection are those of Heinrich Obersteiner, Julius Tandler, Wagner von Jauregg, Lorenz Böhler, Guido Holzknecht, Leopold Schrötter von Kristelli, Josef Sorgo and Anton Sattler. The latter three names are of particular significance insofar as Sorgo was Schrötter's pupil and Sattler was Sorgo's, in turn, so that, for example, the development of the methods employed to combat tuberculosis can be followed up for almost a century. In addition, many smaller bundles of papers donated by doctors during their lifetime, or in their will, constantly enrich the collection. Pharmaceutical firms have also made valuable contributions. Merck Sharp and Dohme, for example, bought at an auction in 1989 three letters written in French by Gerard van Swieten between 1759 and 1761. These letters, which had previously been privately owned, were acquired for the Vienna Medical Faculty and have been deposited in the manuscript collection of the institute. The subject matter of these letters is of great interest, namely experimental-physical tuition of medical students, on the one hand, and professional questions and financial problems affecting the doctors of the time, on the other hand, representing two of the principal areas of concern to van Swieten, the great reformer. Theodor Billroth's manuscript collection, which has been placed at the disposal of the institute by the Gesellschaft der Ärzte deserves special mention. This collection, collated by Billroth himself and interspersed with his annotations, comprises over 300 letters written by 170 correspondents. The majority of the letter-writers were famous colleagues, mainly from German-speaking, but also from Anglo-Saxon countries. Letters written by Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and by Duke (Dr) Carl Theodor in Bayern are also to be found amongst the wide-ranging correspondence. The collection received a boost with respect to contemporary medical history as a result of a project initiated by Helmut Wyklicky in the 1980s, whilst head of the Institute for the History of Medicine. In a letter personally addressed to each member of all the Austrian Medical Faculties, he requested co-operation in providing the institute with a curriculum vitae and list of publications, as well as any relevant photos for the picture archives. Many colleagues responded to this appeal, with contributions still coming in during the 1990s, so that there is sufficient material at the disposal of the institute for the documentation of Austrian medical history at the end of the 20th century, if this project were to be realised in the future. Manfred Skopec |
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