2. Correspondence from Frances Long Taylor, 1910-1922

File — Box: 12, Folder: 3

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: This collection of correspondence, addresses, writings, and research materials documents Francis R. Packard's work with the history of medicine and his editorship of "The annals of medical history".

Series 1 contains two collections of Packard's incoming correspondence (1893-1950) with occasional copies of his outgoing letters. Series 1.1 is filed alphabetically by name of correspondent; subjects include submissions to "The annals of medical history", inquiries concerning the history of medicine, and documentation of Packard's professional appointments and work with organizations, such as the American Philosophical Society, Bryn Mawr Hospital, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Major correspondents concerning "The annals of medical history" include: Arturo Castiglioni, Harvey Cushing, Sir Ernest Finch, John F. Fulton, Fielding H. Garrison, Paul B. Hoeber, Chevalier Jackson, E. B. Krumbhaar, William S. Middleton, Robert L. Pitfield, Sir Humphrey Rolleston, John Ruhrah, and Richard H. Shryock. There is an extensive collection of letters (1893-1919) from Sir William Osler concerning "The American journal of medical science", the history of medicine, and the death of his son, Revere, as well as a typescript account of the presentation made to Osler on his 70th birthday by the Royal Society of Medicine. Other notable items include correspondence from P. M. Ashburn of the Army Medical Library, W. R. Bett on the Osler Club, Thomas McCrae on Packard's contribution to A system of modern medicine, Charles Singer's letters about a trip to the United States in 1930, and J. William White on the Franklin Inn Club. Series 1.2 is a chronological file, assembled during the last years of Packard's life (1946-1950). The bulk of this correspondence concerns medical history.

Fifteen addresses on topics of medical history or otolaryngology (1894-1942) are preserved in Series 2. Most addresses have complete typescripts, but some exist only in the form of rough notes or fragments and may never have been delivered.

A wide selection of manuscripts of Packard's writings, generally unpublished, is contained in Series 3. There are two book length typescripts, one, a history of surgery (ca.1938), the other, an undated biography of Baron Dominique Larrey, as well as brief articles on Sir William Osler and Crawford W. Long. The series also includes correspondence, reviews, and bills and receipts from Packard's History of medicine in the United States; biographical memoirs of William Pepper, Harrison Smith Morris, and Lawrence Johnson Morris; and a few book reviews written by Packard.

Research materials, mostly undated, which were assembled by Packard for various projects are preserved in Series 4. Most of this material is either on index cards or in the form of manuscript or typescript notes sorted by subject heading. The series includes notes on the lives of Michel de Montaigne and Samuel Pepys; biographical information on physicians who were members of the American Philosophical Society; and an extensive collection of materials relating to medicine and William Shakespeare's work. Packard gathered relevant quotations and explanatory material from Shakespeare's plays and sorted this information by subject, such as aphrodisiacs, fever, insanity, poison, and venomous animals. This series also includes notes on two plays, "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "King John", and correspondence from Shakespearean scholar Horace Howard Furness.

Series 5 contains a catalogue by slide number and two incomplete subject catalogues for Packard's lantern slide collection on medical history. Packard donated his collection to the Library of the College of Physicians in 1942.

Some information documenting Packard's editorship of "The annals of medical history" is preserved in Series 6. There is one folder of correspondence (1916-1917) from physicians, Harvey Cushing, Mortimer Frank, Abraham Jacobi, Morris Jastrow, Howard A. Kelly, Arnold C. Klebs, and Edward C. Streeter, expressing approval and support of the proposed publication. Packard's card index to authors and submissions as well as an editorial index to book reviews, correspondence, editorials, and news items is included. (Packard's editorial correspondence is interfiled with his personal and professional correspondence in Series

Series 7 is composed of miscellaneous items, including some extensive background material on Crawford W. Long, with correspondence from Long's daughter and biographer, Frances Long Taylor, and Emory A. Bryant; a small collection of medical poetry; printed material from the Royal College of Physicians's 1928 Harvey Tercentenary, which Packard attended as the representative of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia; and a small card file of notes on Packard's otolaryngological patients, sorted by surgical procedure or ailment (1900-1925).