Category Archives: History

UCSF Archives Coloring Book

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We created a coloring book featuring illustrations from fifteenth to nineteenth-century rare books housed in the UCSF Archives and Special Collections. Coloring reduces stress, inspires creativity, and it’s just plain fun. You can scroll through a few of the images below and download the entire book for free here. Happy coloring!

We would love to see your finished creations. Tweet your pictures @ucsf_archives and use #ColorOurCollections.

Ketham, Joannes de. The Fasciculo di medicina, Venice. 1493. Find it at the UCSF Library: ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1121554~S0

Ketham, Joannes de. The Fasciculo di medicina, Venice, 1493. ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1121554~S0

Konrad, von Megenberg. Buch der Natur. 1482. Find it at the UCSF Library: ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1074494~S0

Konrad, von Megenberg. Buch der Natur, 1482. ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1074494~S0

Ryff, Walther Hermenuis. Omnium humani corporis partium… 1541. Find it at the UCSF Library: ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1063757~S0

Ryff, Walther Hermenuis. Omnium humani corporis partium…, 1541.
ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b1063757~S0

speccoll_bartisch_ophthalmodouleia

Bartisch, Georg. Ophthalmodouleia. 1583. ucsfcat.library.ucsf.edu/record=b2286634~S0

Download the complete UCSF Archives and Special Collections Coloring Book

Early MRI technology on display now at the UCSF Library

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The UCSF Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit at the UCSF Library, Vision for the Future: Advancing MRI Technology at UCSF’s Radiologic Imaging Laboratory, 1975-2000. The exhibit explores the pivotal role UCSF researchers played in developing imaging technology that revolutionized patient care and transformed the way we see our bodies. View material from the Radiologic Imaging Laboratory records housed in the UCSF Archives, including research notebooks, MRI coil prototypes, rare photographs, and more.

Join us April 5th at 12 noon for the exhibit’s official opening. Archivists will be on hand to answer any of your questions!

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MRI scale model and coil prototype on display.

The Radiologic Imaging Laboratory (RIL) was founded in the mid-1970s by a team of UCSF scientists and engineers. Their goal was to create a clinically viable diagnostic tool using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, later called MRI. Over the course of 25 years, the lab brought together venture capitalists, researchers, and clinicians to develop, evaluate, and market new imaging systems and instruments. The lab’s interdisciplinary approach and partnerships with private corporations, including Pfizer, Diasonics, and Toshiba, led to rapid innovation and numerous patents that continue to impact clinical care today.

Lab researchers and technicians Lawrence Crooks, Bob McCree, Ian Duff, and Roger Littlewood, circa 1981. Photograph collection.

RIL researchers and technicians Lawrence Crooks, Bob McCree, Ian Duff, and Roger Littlewood, circa 1981. Photograph collection.

The exhibit showcases just a fraction of the over 90 linear feet of engineering records, correspondence, and other material in the collection (call number MSS 2002-08). Through the generous support of RIL engineer, Dr. Lawrence E. Crooks, the UCSF Archives has processed the collection and created a detailed inventory available to researchers on the Online Archive of California. Archives staff have also made hundreds of documents and photographs from the collection available digitally on Calisphere, a public online portal.

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MRI coil on display.

The exhibit is located on the main floor (3rd floor) of the UCSF Library, 530 Parnassus Ave. It is free and open to the public during Library hours, April 2016-April 2017.

Library Open House and Exhibit

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Join us this Wednesday, March 16, from 12noon-2pm for an afternoon of activities and history! View the newly opened Library exhibit, An Engine of Inquiry and Change: The UCSF Library, and take a sneak peek at the soon-to-open Makers Lab.

Meet us on the main floor of the UCSF Library for 3D printing demos, knitting, coloring, and more at the Makers Lab preview. Talk to a roaming Library expert to get your questions answered and learn more about how the Library serves students, faculty and staff. View silent films from the Archives and Special Collections then head to the 5th floor to explore the exhibit.

An Engine of Inquiry and Change: The UCSF Library celebrates 150 years of growth, evolution, and user-centered service at the UCSF Library. Discover how the collection grew from less than 2,000 volumes into one of the world’s preeminent health sciences libraries.

View rare books and medical artifacts from the Archives and Special Collections and learn about exciting, technologically-advanced tools for the post-digital age. And don’t forget to “catalog” your Library memories and ideas for the future at our interactive card catalog display!

Sign up here to attend the event. The exhibit runs March 2016-March 2017.

Medical Quackery Series: Bloodletting

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In this series, we’ll be exploring artifacts and other material from our collections related to medical misinformation and fraud. Step right up folks and learn how everything from bleedings to electricity can cure your ills!

Bloodletting as a medical practice has existed for thousands of years; ancient peoples, including the Greeks and Egyptians, used bloodletting to cure numerous conditions. The treatment, which involved draining blood with leeches or by puncturing the skin with a sharp instrument, was based on the theory of bodily humors. People believed that good health resulted from a balance of the four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. A person suffered illness when these humors became unbalanced. Bloodletting was devised as a way to correct harmful imbalances in the body.

"Old wooden barber pole. 1900." From the Graves (Roy D.) Pictorial Collection, ca. 1850-ca. 1968. Courtesy the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Accessed via Calisphere https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/tf1r29n9jj/

“Old wooden barber pole. 1900.” From the Graves (Roy D.) Pictorial Collection, ca. 1850-1968. Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, accessed via Calisphere: https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/tf1r29n9jj

In Europe and the United States, surgeons and barbers offered bloodletting as a treatment for just about everything, from pneumonia to gout to cancer. Barbers so regularly performed bloodletting that they adopted a symbol to help advertise the service: the barber’s pole, a red and white striped pillar reminiscent of blood and bandages.

Leeches and a number of different instruments were used for bloodletting in the 18th and 19th centuries. The lancet was one of the simplest tools; it consisted of a sharp, pointed blade attached to a straight handle. A variation of this was the fleam, a wide double-edged blade at a right angle to the handle. The folding fleam pictured here includes two blades encased in a brass shield.

Folding fleam. Artifact Collection, number 431.

Folding fleam. Artifact Collection, number 431.

Folding fleam

Folding fleam. Artifact Collection, number 431.

A spring lancet was more mechanized. It included a spring trigger that snapped the blade into a vein. Spring lancets were, perhaps unsurprisingly, difficult to clean and often became rife with bacteria.

Spring lancet and case. Artifact Collection, number 416.

Spring lancet and case. Artifact Collection, number 416.

Spring lancet detail. Artifact Collection, number 416.

Detail of spring lancet. Artifact Collection, number 416.

Scarificators allowed for multiple cuts to be made at once. The octagonal or round base housed six to twenty blades that released from the bottom with the flick of a lever.

Scarificator. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Scarificator. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Removing scarificator from original box. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Removing scarificator from original box. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Detail of scarificator with blades extended. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Detail of scarificator with blades extended. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Blades of scarificator. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Blades of scarificator. Artifact Collection, number 518.

Bleeding bowls were often used to catch blood during the procedure. These came in different sizes and material, including brass, ceramic, and pewter.

Bleeding bowl. Artifact Collection, number 557.

Bleeding bowl. Artifact Collection, number 557.

Today, bloodletting is widely discredited as a medical treatment. However, phlebotomy therapy is used to treat certain conditions, including hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes abnormal iron accumulation. Leeches are making a comeback too; some reconstructive surgeons use them to restore circulation following procedures.

To view more bloodletting instruments, make an appointment with the UCSF Archives. You can also check out our exhibit on the third floor of the UCSF Library until April 2016. You’ll see a 19th-century spring lancet engraved to UC Medical College Dean Richard Beverly Cole from his mother!

Kezar Stadium: The Original Home of Professional Football in the Bay Area

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Before there was Levi’s Stadium, there was Candlestick Park—and before there was Candlestick, there was Kezar Stadium. In light of the Super Bowl 50 festivities happening on the Embarcadero right now—celebrating a game some 40 miles south of the city—it is good to remember that the original home to both of the Bay Area’s professional football teams is less than five blocks away from UCSF Parnassus.

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UCSF aerial, 1959. Kezar in top right corner.

Built in 1924-1925, Kezar first served as a multi-purpose stadium hosting a myriad of sports, ranging from track and field to soccer to cricket. After the San Francisco 49ers inaugural season in 1946, the facility became primarily a football stadium, staging games for the next 25 years, including the Oakland Raiders first four home games in 1960. Though never home to a Super Bowl, Kezar did host two NFL conference championships, including the 49ers last home game there on January 3, 1971 against the Dallas Cowboys.

UCSF aerial, 1938. Kezar to left of frame.

UCSF aerial, 1938. Kezar to left of frame.

UCSF aerial, circa 1955. Kezar in foreground.

UCSF aerial, circa 1955. Kezar in foreground.

In addition to football and other sports, Kezar stadium presented many other concerts and events, and had a memorable role as the home and workplace of the Scorpio killer in the first Dirty Harry movie. It was torn down in 1989, prior to the Loma Prieta earthquake, and rebuilt in its current incarnation as a much smaller, 10,000 seat venue (some 50,000 seats smaller than its original capacity of 59,942). It was recently renovated, and now features 1,000 seats from Candlestick Park.

UCSF aerial, 1969. Kezar at top left.

UCSF aerial, 1969. Kezar at top left.

Cable Car Day

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January 17th is Cable Car Day! This occasion marks the day Andrew Smith Hallidie received the first patent for cable car railways in 1871. Legend has it that Hallidie was inspired to create the cable car after witnessing horses struggle to pull carriages up San Francisco’s steep hills.

Photograph of a San Francisco cable car. From UCSF MediCal yearbook, 1968

San Francisco cable car. From UCSF MediCal yearbook, 1968

Hallidie first tested the cable car in San Francisco in 1873.  Hallidie partnered with Clay Street Hill Railroad that year and by September the company offered public service in San Francisco.

Photograph of a San Francisco cable car. From UCSF MediCal yearbook, 1968

San Francisco cable car. From UCSF MediCal yearbook, 1968

Cable car companies faced competition from electric streetcars throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Streetcars, which run on steel rails and are connected to overhead wires, were cheaper to build and maintain than cable cars, which run on steel rails and are propelled by an underground cable.

Streetcar in front of the UC Affiliated Colleges (later UCSF), circa 1910. Photograph collection.

Streetcar in front of the UC Affiliated Colleges (later UCSF), circa 1910. From photograph collection.

San Francisco cable car. From UCSF MediCal yearbook, 1968

San Francisco cable car. From UCSF MediCal yearbook, 1968

By the mid-20th century, San Francisco was considering completely eliminating cable car lines. Concerned citizens protested the proposal and, thanks to their efforts, the cable cars were saved.Today, San Francisco’s cable cars are protected as a National Historic Landmark. You can still ride on a San Francisco cable car; visit SFMTA’s website for tickets and more information.

 

“A Winter Wonderland”

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When recently asked whether the archives had any pictures of snow in San Francisco, one of my colleagues mentioned that she had seen a folder that mentioned snow in our photograph collection. We were able to track it down pretty quickly, and sure enough, the title of the folder was: “San Francisco—Some Snow, 1930s.” Quickly thumbing through the prints, I found this breathtaking photograph of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, with snow on the Marin Headlands in the background.

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It is fairly rare that I answer a reference question so quickly—and with such stunning results. But had I really? Trying to determine an approximate date for the image, I looked up the dates for the major snow storms in San Francisco (which was easy, considering there were only four during the 20th century) and cross-referenced it with the construction of the bridge. The only snow storm in San Francisco during the 1930s was on December 11, 1932—almost a full month before construction began on the bridge on January 5, 1933.

Disappointed, but also a little intrigued, I looked at some of the other “snow” images in the folder. This one, which appears to be of the Marin Headlands as well, with the city in the foreground, had the following caption on back: “Looking North: When the cold wind doth blow, we sell this for a snow picture. Infrared.”

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The mystery was solved when I took a peek at the verso of another “snow” picture. This one was taken with a telescopic lens from the Dean’s office of the UCSF School of Dentistry, and showed downtown San Francisco with the Berkeley Hills in the background. The image was dated March 8, 1934.

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A scan and transcription of the anonymous photographer’s description of how he or she was able to turn the Bay Area into a winter wonderland at the beginning of March is below. Evidently the infrared plates used in taking the image turned the “bright green grassy slopes of early spring” into what appeared to be snowy peaks. Unfortunately, this meant that we didn’t have any photographs of snow readily available, but at least it made for a fun little search.

"University of California Medical Center Campus, San Francisco. A telescopic view of San Francisco and the Univ. of California at Berkeley 12 miles away taken from the dean's offices in the College of Dentistry. This photograph was taken March 8th 1934 after 5pm with infrared plates.The wite patches on the hills which resemble snow are the bright green grassy slopes of early spring."

“University of California Medical Center Campus, San Francisco. A telescopic view of San Francisco and the Univ. of California at Berkeley 12 miles away taken from the dean’s offices in the College of Dentistry. This photograph was taken March 8th 1934 after 5pm with infrared plates.The white patches on the hills which resemble snow are the bright green grassy slopes of early spring.”

The Nutcracker Visits UCSF Pediatrics

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We’re bringing you some holiday cheer courtesy of the San Francisco Ballet! In December 1974, dancers in SF Ballet’s 30th anniversary performance of The Nutcracker visited patients in the pediatric wards of Moffitt Hospital, UCSF Medical Center. The performers danced and distributed nutcracker dolls and posters to patients.

San Francisco Ballet's Diana Weber as the Sugar Plum Fairy and patient, 1974. Photograph collection, News Services carton, SF Ballet Visit folder

San Francisco Ballet’s Diana Weber as the Sugar Plum Fairy and patient, 1974. Photograph collection, News Services carton, SF Ballet Visit folder. Photo by Paul Kolsanoff.

Ballerina Diana Weber, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, chatted with patients and performed with the Rat King.

The Rat King and Diana Weber as the Sugar Plum Fairy, 1974. Photograph collection, News Services carton, SF Ballet Visit folder. Photo by Donna Chaban.

Other characters from the show joined in too, including one of the Rat King’s minions.

The Rat King, 1974. Photograph collection, News Services carton, SF Ballet Visit folder

Nutcracker performer, 1974. Photograph collection, News Services carton, SF Ballet Visit folder. Photo by Donna Chaban.

Nutcracker performer, 1974. Photograph collection, News Services carton, SF Ballet Visit folder. Photo by Donna Chaban.

To learn more about the event and UCSF Pediatrics in the 1970s, check out this original press release available in our digital collections on HathiTrust.

Processing the Papers of Nobel Laureate J. Michael Bishop

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We are processing the papers of J. Michael Bishop, Nobel Prize-winning scientist and UCSF Chancellor Emeritus. The project will produce a detailed finding aid for the collection and a digital collection of selected material.

J. Michael Bishop

J. Michael Bishop

J. Michael Bishop, MD, joined the UCSF faculty in 1968. He was appointed director of the GW Hooper Research Foundation in 1981 and named UCSF Chancellor in 1998, a post he held until 2009. He continues to serve as Hooper’s director and as professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

In 1989, Bishop and his research colleague, Harold Varmus, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in cancer research. Bishop and Varmus discovered the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes. Their work helped clarify the processes that convert normal cellular genes into cancer genes and impacted our understanding of the genesis of human cancer.

Bishop and Varmus. Photograph Collection, Bishop.

Bishop and Varmus in laboratory. Photograph Collection, Bishop.

Bishop’s papers (MSS 2007-21) contain his laboratory research notebooks and professional papers, including article drafts, correspondence with other scientists, and teaching and lecture material. Also included are drafts and figures from Bishop’s autobiographical book, How to Win the Nobel Prize: An Unexpected Life in Science.

Handwritten wager between UC Berkeley faculty member Mike Botchan and Art Levinson, Bishop's staff scientist at the time. Figure included in Bishop's book, How to Win the Nobel Prize. Exhibit files, Bishop.

1983 wager between UC Berkeley faculty member Mike Botchan and Arthur Levinson, Bishop’s staff scientist at the time. Figure included in Bishop’s book, How to Win the Nobel Prize. Exhibit files, Bishop papers, MSS 2007-21.

Group photograph of California Nobel Prize winners with family members and dogs. Exhibit files, Bishop.

Group photograph of California Nobel Prize winners with family members and dogs, 1998. Bishop pictured at center. Exhibit files, Bishop papers, MSS 2007-21.

The collection even includes replicas of Varmus and Bishop’s Nobel Prize medals!

Replicas of Varmus and Bishop Nobel Prize medals. MSS 2007-21.

Replicas of Varmus and Bishop Nobel Prize medals. MSS 2007-21.

The UCSF Archives and Special Collections also houses the papers of Harold E. Varmus (MSS 93-51, MSS 84-25, and MSS 88-47). Please contact us if you would like to view any of these collections.

Unadulterated Holiday Spirits

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Post by David Uhlich

‘Tis the season for reminders about the proper handling of Thanksgiving leftovers, cautions regarding the dangers of overindulgence, and USDA recommendations that you cook your turkey breast until it is roughly the texture of sawdust. A recent foray into the rare book vault indicates that almost 200 years ago a German chemist named Fredrick Accum was doling out similar fare.

From A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons..., Fredrick Accum, 1822.

From A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons…, Fredrick Accum, 1822.

In his book, titled simply Culinary Poisons (or more lengthily A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons, Exhibiting the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine, Spiritous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionary, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and Other Articles Employed in Domestic Economy, and Methods of Detecting Them), Accum warns about the dangers of food additives and contamination, both for fraudulent purposes and as a byproduct of newly industrialized food production. For example, in his chapter “Disgusting Practice of Rendering Butchers’ Meat, Fish, and Poultry Unwholesome,” Accum rails against butchers who tamper with meat to make it appear fresher and those who mistreat animals that are meant for the table. While definitely a man of many words, Accum echoes current desires for natural, organic, cruelty-free foods. He would almost certainly approve of spending the extra money for that free-range heritage turkey.

From A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons..., Fredrick Accum, 1822.

From A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons…, Fredrick Accum, 1822.

Accum’s motto for the book is “there is death in the pot” (from 2 Kings 4:40), but he seems just as concerned with those that might tamper with the bottle. In the 344 page text, there are 30 pages dedicated to wine, 25 pages to spirits, and over 60 pages regarding the adulteration of beer. In fact, one of the numerous other books he wrote was A Treatise on the Art of Making Wine from Native Fruits; Elucidating the Chemical Principles upon Which the Art of Winemaking depends, the Fruits Best Adapted for Home-Made Wine, and the Methods of Preparing Them.  Sounds like the kind of person we’d all like to have at our holiday parties this year!