Robinson, William Duffield. "Medicine in the world war", 20 November 1923

File — Box: 3, Folder: 45

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The records of the Sydenham Medical Coterie span the duration of its existence, from 1870 to 1980, and give a reasonably complete account of its proceedings and activities.

The organizational records of the Coterie (Series 1) contain the original manuscript constitution, adopted in 1870 with emendations to 1873. Bound with the constitution is the socalled "black list" (ca.1873-1896), a record of patients who were delinquent in payment of bills. The members of the Coterie referred to the black list and avoided patients who were listed on it.

A complete run of minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the Coterie (Series 2) has been preserved from the group's formation in 1870 to 1944. No minutes of meetings have been preserved after 1944. The minutes describe the transaction of all Coterie business, including election of officers, treasurer's reports, and memorials of deceased members. Detailed abstracts of the scientific presentations and summaries of ensuing discussions are also preserved in the minutes from 1870 to 1895 and from 1922 through 1944. The minutes become sparse in 1916-1917 and minutes of the following meetings are missing: January through May, 1929; January and May, 1930; October, 1936; February, 1937; October, 1939; and October, 1943.

Series 3, the files of the Coterie secretaries, 1896-1980, includes general correspondence, arrangements, and scheduling for meetings of the Coterie; membership correspondence; memorials, newsclippings, and correspondence concerning deceased members; and some poetry delivered on notable Coterie occasions. The bulk of these files, from the 1930s to 1944, derives from the tenures of Rae Sheppard Dorsett, Joseph C. Doane, Louis D. Englerth, Walter Lillie, and, from the 1950s through the 1970s, from David L. Drabkin. This series also contains the only information available about the membership and activities of the Coterie from 1951 to its dissolution in 1980. There is almost no information available about the Coterie from 1944 to 1951.

Medical and scientific papers which were read before the Sydenham Medical Coterie, 1896-1946, are preserved in Series 4. The bulk of the papers is concentrated in the 1920s and 1930s. These papers, generally typescripts with occasional abstracts, are concerned with a variety of topics. Most deal with purely medical subjects, such as viral hepatitis, polio, and cancer, and often present specific cases as examples. Other topics include experiences in World War I, the history of the Coterie, and eugenics. Most of the papers which have been preserved were presented by Charles A.E. Codman, Rae Sheppard Dorsett, John M. Fisher, and James H. McKee; there is also an extensive collection of papers concerning ophthalmological subjects presented by McCluney Radcliffe. Extensive abstracts of other papers are often preserved in the minutes of the Coterie. Although scientific sessions continue through the 1970s, there are no papers or abstracts available after 1946.