CPP 10. Records of Committees of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Overview The Library Committee of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia became a standing committee in 1834. At this time, the chairman of the Library Committee acted as the Librarian of the College. In 1863, the Office of the Librarian was created, and the duties of the Library Committee were reduced to the "general supervision of the Library of the College".

This collection (1951-1981) includes minutes, financial statements, and correspondence.

Overview The College of Physicians was founded in 1787 as a private medical society devoted to the advancement of medical education, research, and guidance of the medical profession itself. In order to help fulfill these goals, the College’s Fellowship have garnered impressive resources including a biomedical library in 1788, a medical museum in 1858, an institute for the history of medicine in 1976, and museum education programs in 2006. These resources are housed in a building constructed in 1909 at...

Scope and Contents Letters, minutes, contracts, and receipts for payment, 1874-1875, associated with autopsy of Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker. Autopsy begun on 1 Feb. 1874 at Bunker home in Mt. Airy, N.C., and completed in Mütter Museum of College of Physicians of Philadelphia later in Feb. 1874. Letters and minutes concern transport of bodies and arrangements for College of Physicians to oversee conclusion of autopsy. Contracts and receipts are for photographs, casts, and anatomical drawings, and supplies...

Scope and Contents The collection, including minutes, reports, correspondence, construction specifications, contracts, and related material, documents the work of the Building Committee, 1861-1864, and the construction of the Hall of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Most of this material was produced by Isaac Hays, chairman of the committee.Notable items include the Building Committee's minute book, 24 February 1862-2 February 1864, which contains details of all alterations to the...

Overview The Building Committee of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia was appointed on 6 April 1904, shortly after the Fellows elected to construct a new College building on 22nd and Ludlow Streets in Philadelphia. The Building Committee continued to meet through 1914, when the furnishing and construction of the College building on 22nd Street was completed.Several short-term committees were established previously, while the decision was made to construct a new building and purchase...

Overview The Building Committee, first active between 1861 and 1864, and again between 1904 and circa 1911, was re-established in October 1948 to discuss and plan for Library-secific building work, notably reading room renovations, a new heating system, and an addition to the stacks. This small collection, dating from 1948 to 1956, documents the work of the Committee, and includes meeting minutes, correspondence, contracts with vendors, and mailers oncerning the project sent to College Fellows.

Overview There have several iterations of a Building Fund Committee during the College's history. The first was formed in 1849 to "ascertain and report to the College the probable cost of a lot and the sum necessary to erect thereon a building suitable for the accommodation of the College, and to suggest a plan for raising the funds estimated to be requisite for the execution of the project." In its most recent form, the Committee was likely re-established in the early 1900s when the College began...

Overview The Committee on the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia was charged with the general supervision of the anatomical and pathological museum established by the articles of agreement made between the College and Thomas D. Mütter in 1858-1859. The chairman of the committee was to report annually on the condition of the museum and semi-annually on its financial situation. The collection contains the correspondence and financial files of chairmen of the Committee of the Mütter...

Overview The idea of forming an Institute for the History of Medicine at the College of Physicians was first proposed in 1966. In 1974, the President of the College, John Hubbard, put together a small committee to discuss the prospect of an institute for the history of medicine. The Francis Clark Wood Institute for the History of Medicine (Wood Institute) was founded in 1976 to support research in the field of social medical history. In January 1977, Ronald F. Kotrc was selected as the first Director...