{"id":26184,"date":"2023-03-30T11:00:32","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/?p=26184"},"modified":"2023-03-29T10:41:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T14:41:34","slug":"dr-windsor-gentleman-collector-of-rare-medical-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2023\/03\/30\/dr-windsor-gentleman-collector-of-rare-medical-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Windsor: Gentleman Collector of Rare Medical Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Anne Rothfeld ~
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

What motivates a rare book collector? A medical professional naturally accumulates an array of reference books particularly around their specialization. But what attracts some to historical works, and materials that range far from a collector\u2019s professional interests?\u00a0 Books are certainly beautiful, aesthetic objects; and then there\u2019s the thrill of the hunt. Book collectors\u2019 euphoria for seeking certain editions through antiquarian bookshops and assembling materials into an ever-growing collection, indicates into emotional investment. Collectors’ motivations are as unique to the individual as to their collection\u2014the private pleasure of discovering and accumulating treasures, an altruistic impulse to preserve knowledge, or a more public desire to build a quality collection that will stand as a legacy.\u00a0 Some or all of these may have motivated Thomas Windsor, whose lifetime of investment in books enriched the growing collections of the Library of the Surgeon General’s Office (now the National Library of Medicine) upon his death in 1910<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Thomas Windsor in A Centenary History of the Manchester Medical Society, With Biographical Notices of its First President, Secretaries and Honorary Librarian<\/em>, 1934
National Library of Medicine #31711080R<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thomas Windsor (1831\u20131910) was a well-regarded British surgeon who had a large private practice. He studied at the Manchester Royal School of Medicine where he qualified and passed the Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) in 1853\u20131854.\u00a0 After receiving his diploma from the Manchester Eye Hospital in 1856, Windsor began his career working in London\u2019s general and special hospitals as an ophthalmic surgeon, including Salford and Pendleton Royal Hospital and Dispensary, Manchester Southern Hospital for Women and Children, and Royal Infirmary, and served as lecturer in ophthalmology at Owens College Manchester.\u00a0 He spoke several languages and tracked medical advancements across Europe. He abstracted articles from medical journals indicating his knowledge of the breadth of the surgical field and transcribed and translated numerous articles from German and French medical journals into notebooks.\u00a0 He even introduced German ophthalmological innovations to British surgeons.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/a>
“The Treatment of Wounds of the Eye by Suture” by Thomas Winsor in Manchester Medical and Surgical Report, 1871 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Hospital <\/a>
Thomas Windsor’s Letterhead as a Surgeon at Manchester Eye Hospital, ca. 1860 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n
\"A<\/a>
Thomas Windsor\u2019s handwritten Index to Medical Literature<\/em>, 1855
National Library of Medicine #2931155R<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Windsor\u2019s lasting fame rests on his love for collecting old and rare medical books. Retiring from his practice in 1878 at the age of 47, Windsor turned his attention to acquiring rare medical books, early manuscripts, and incunabula, and building medical bibliographic knowledge.\u00a0 His love of books led to a longstanding association as an honorary librarian to the Manchester Medical Society (MMS) from 1858\u20131883 during which time he took over the MMS library, acquiring new material, cataloging the entire collection, and eventually supervising its transfer to Owens College in 1875.\u00a0 Windsor inexpensively purchased books \u201c\u2026rich in books of plates, dictionaries, cyclop\u00e6dias, periodicals and old and scarce books\u201d not only for their rarity, but also for the artworks, turning the MMS into a nationally significant collection.\u00a0 The collection grew four-fold under his tutelage.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
A book plate documenting the acquisition of a manuscript from Thomas Windsor in 1913.
National Library of Medicine #2931174R<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1874, Windsor\u2019s connection to the Library of the Surgeon General\u2019s Office began. John Shaw Billings<\/a> (1838\u20131913), the surgeon and librarian in charge, wrote to Windsor at the MMS regarding an exchange of duplicate medical books housed in each library.\u00a0 Windsor enthusiastically responded and negotiations commenced.\u00a0 Specific exchange clauses were established, and financials rendered at stated intervals.\u00a0 Soon, crates of books crossed the Atlantic Ocean in both directions.\u00a0 Reportedly, one crate consisted of approximately 148 volumes and 64 pamphlets.<\/p>\n

Windsor, described as Billing\u2019s second-hand man and thus the library\u2019s greatest benefactor, became Billings\u2019 overseas book agent, searching for and acquiring special titles for the Army medical library. Soon, Windsor took an interest in Index Medicus<\/em><\/a>, contributing to \u201cNotes and Queries\u201d regarding rare book editions, and the Index-Catalogue<\/em><\/a>, where Windsor was acknowledged for his voluntary donations of valuable rare medical books, including watercolors of anatomical sketches<\/a> by Sir Charles Bell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the former owner and donor of nearly 80 remarkable examples of rare medical books acquired for the Library of the Surgeon General’s Office collections, Thomas Windsor exemplifies the gentleman book collections. Examples of his purchases for his private collection, now available through NLM Digital Collections, include:<\/p>\n