Antall József szerk.: Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 5. (Budapest, 1972)

The Medical Historical Library

THE MEDICAL HISTORICAL LIBRARY Its sphere of interest is twofold

: it aims at collecting Hungarian and foreign medical literature up to 1900 on the one hand and continuously collects reference books, manuals and medical historical works necessary for medical historical research activity without any time limit on the other. The collection of books is completed by a rich periodical, dissertation and separatum collection. As it is a historical collection, there are also works from the related branches of science to be found beside the main field of interest. A significant part of the holdings of the library are made up by historical, science historical, art-and cultural historical documents. BOOKS The collection of rare books - marked by "S" - is composed of handwritten works made previous to the invention of printing, incunabula (printed before 1500), foreign publications between 1501 and 1600 (rarissima-vetustissima), and early Hungarian printings from the beginnings up to 1711. Here one can also find the products of the best known printing presses (Figs. 115-116.), unique copies, books known for their illustrations, famous bindings (Fig. 117.) and books of noted possessors. The collection contains nearly thousand volumes, and we try to make it known by reviewing the most outstanding ones. The complete catalogue of the collection of rare books in under preparation. HANDWRITTEN WORKS I. Among the manuscripts prepared previous to the invention of printing mention should be made of a medical fragment dating back to the Late Middle Ages, probably the work of Sigismundųs Albicus

, the physician of the Bohemian