Morbid Anatomy Exhibition and Event Series, Viktor Wynd Fine Art/Last Tuesday Society, London, September 2012

As mentioned in a recent post, beginning in just a few days, Morbid Anatomy will be artist-in-residence at Viktor Wynd Fine Art and The Last Tuesday Society in London, England. The residency will span the entire month, and will include an exhibition (photographs from which you see above), as well as a full month's worth of "Morbid Anatomy Presents" programming that will include some seriously amazing lectures, a screening, a "Congress for Curious Peoples" symposium, and a field trip to the rarely open-to-the-public St Bartholomew's Hospital Pathology Museum where I will also give a lecture on the art and history of anatomical museums.

The exhibition, "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," will open with a party next Thursday, September 6 and will premiere a new body of work based on my latest obsession: the through-lines connecting the beautiful, immaculately preserved corpse found in both  the churches and enlightenment-era anatomical museums of Italy. The exhibition, which will feature my own photographs and waxworks by the über-talented Eleanor Crook and Sigrid Sarda. You can download a postcard invitation which contains full information by clicking here.

I have just created pages for each event, which you can find at the Morbid Anatomy Facebook page by clicking here. The list also follows here, for your convenience:

FULL LIST OF EVENTS

Monday, 3rd September 2012, 7 PM
Granta Magazine - Medicine Issue Launch

Tuesday, 4th September 2012, 7 PM
Robert Marbury - Rogue Taxidermy in the Digital Age

Wednesday, 5th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr Sam Alberti of The Hunterian Museum on the History of Medical Museums

Thursday, 6 September 2012, 6-8 PM
Opening Reception for "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," Sponsored by Hendricks Gin

Saturday, 8th September 2012, 11 AM - 5:30 PM
'Congress for Curious People' Seminar - London Edition

Monday, 10th September 2012, 7 PM
Ronni Thomas and The Real Tuesday Weld - 'Midnight Archive' screening

Tuesday, 11th September 2012, 7 PM
Martin Clayton on Leonardo Da Vinci and Dissection

Wednesday, 12th September 2012, 7 PM
Curious Cafés of the Belle Epoque with Vadim Kosmos

Monday, 17th September 2012, 7 PM
Gemma Angel on the History of Human Tattoos

Wednesday, 19th September 2012, 7 PM
Field Trip to St Bart's Pathology Museum with Lecture by Joanna Ebenstein

Thursday, 20th September 2012, 7 PM
Paul Craddock - History of Blood Transfusions

Tuesday, 25th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr. James Kennaway - Bad Vibrations

Wednesday, 26th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr. Pat Morris - Extreme Taxidermy: Elephants and Humans

Thursday, 27th September 2012, 7 PM
Royal Raymond Rife and his Oscillating Beam Ray with Mark Pilkington

Sunday, 30th September 2012, 7 PM
Eleanor Crook on Plastic Surgery of the World Wars

You can find out more about the exhibition here and more about the events here. All of the above images are drawn from the exhibition "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," opening at Viktor Wynde's Fine Art on September 6th with a reception from 6-8, and will be on view through the end of the month. And a special shout out to Jessica Pepper, who so expertly and beautifully retouched these images.

It Came from the Stores, Exhibition, Grant Museum of Zoology, London, Through August 31, 2012

“A lovely skeleton, but sadly lacking a skull,” laments one of the tags afforded to the remains of a Capuchin monkey in this show of the unseen at the ever-exotic Grant Museum. “Rarely do ‘incomplete’ specimens make the grade for display.”

When I am in London, I will most certainly be checking out the wonderful sounding exhibition "It Came from the Stores," on view at the incomparable Grant Museum  until August 31st.

You can find out more here.

Image caption: An elephant shrew is among the specimens on show at the Grant Museum of Zoology

© UCL, Grant Museum of Zoology

Morbid Anatomy Library Open Hours Tomorrow, Saturday August 25, From 1-6

Tomorrow--Saturday August 25--the Morbid Anatomy Library (seen above) will be hosting open, no-appointment-necessary drop in hours from 1 to 6. So feel free to drop in for a perusal of the stacks, and enjoy the company of lovely Morbid Anatomy Library intern Kelsey Kephart.

For more about the Morbid Anatomy Library and for directions and other such information, click here.

Photo of The Library by Shannon Taggart

Closing Party for the Great Coney Island Spectacularium and the Cosmorama of the Great Dreamland Fire, Saturday August 25th, 8:00 PM, The Coney Island Museum

I would like to cordially invite all Morbid Anatomy readers to join us in bidding farewell to the sadly ephemeral Great Coney Island Spectacularium and Cosmorama of the great Dreamland Fire. The exhibition--more on which here--will end after Labor Day weekend, so this is one of your last chances to see it. So please, come raise a glass with us, surrounded by the unfortunate taxidermy once on view at one of the oldest dime museums in the Americas, the Niagara Falls Museum. Join us for a beer in the soon to be dismantled and utterly transporting Cosmorama of the great Dreamland Fire! Help us kiss the lovely toy theater proscenium farewell!

The party will take place next Saturday, August 25th at The Coney Island Museum; There will be free beer and wine, including a special Dreamland Fire Brew, hand-crafted by our friends at the Coney Island Brewery and wine by Red Hook Winery. Artists will be in attendance, as will special guest performers. AND rogue musician Nick Yulman will perform original scores using mechanical instruments for two 1926 films, Now You Tell One and A Wild Roomer by silent comedian and stop-motion animation innovator Charlie Bowers.

The event begins at 8:00 PM; the film will begin at 8:30pm. $20 in advance or at the door. Advance Tickets here. Hope very much to see you there!

You can find out more by clicking here.

Morbid Anatomy Library Open Hours This Saturday From 1-6

This Saturday, the Morbid Anatomy Library (seen above) will be hosting open, no-appointment-necessary drop in hours from 1 to 6. So feel free to drop in for a perusal of the stacks, and enjoy the company of lovely Morbid Anatomy Library intern Kelsey Kepharthttp://barnard.edu/admissions/connect/tour-guides.

For more about the Morbid Anatomy Library and for directions and other such information, click here.

Photo of The Library by Shannon Taggart

Morbid Anatomy Exhibition and Event Series, September 1-30, Viktor Wynd Fine Art, London, England

This September, Morbid Anatomy will be artist-in-residence at Viktor Wynd Fine Art and The Last Tuesday Society in London, England. The residency will span the entire month, and will include an exhibition (photographs from which you see above), as well as a full month's worth of "Morbid Anatomy Presents" programming that will include some seriously amazing lectures, a screening, a "Congress for Curious Peoples" symposium, and a field trip to the obscure and amazing St Bartholomew's Hospital Pathology Museum where I will also give a lecture on the art and history of anatomical museums.

The exhibition, "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," will open on Thursday, September 6 and will premiere a new body of work based on my latest obsession: the through-lines connecting the beautiful, immaculately preserved corpse found in both  the churches and enlightenment-era anatomical museums of Italy. The exhibition, which will feature my own photographs and waxworks by the über-talented Eleanor Crook and Sigrid Sarda, will open with Hendricks Gin-sponsored reception on Thursday, September 6 from 6-8 PM. You can download a postcard invitation which contains full information by clicking here.

For those residing in London or its environs, I hope very very much to see at the opening, or at one or more of these terrific events. Also, any suggestions for places I should visit whilst over are highly appreciated! You can email any suggestions to morbidanatomy[at]gmail.com.

Following are some highlights of the residency, after which a complete chronological schedule:

EVENTS INCLUDE

• A day-long "Congress for Curious Peoples" symposium exploring--via mini-lectures and discussion--ideas of enchantment and enlightenment, or the sublimation of the magical into the rational world as seen in material culture, and featuring Kate Forde from The Wellcome Collection and Simon Chaplin and Ross MacFarlane from the The Wellcome Library; William Edwards of The Gordon Museum of Pathology; wax artists Eleanor Crook and Sigrid Sarda; and scholars Anna Maerker, John Troyer, Petra Lange-Berndt, David L. Martin, Gemma Angel and Simon Werrrett (Full line up and schedule here)
• The afore mentioned field trip to the newly rejuvenated St Bartholomew's Hospital Pathology Museum with a lecture on medical museums by yours truly  
• a workshop on plastic surgery of the World Wars with wax artist Eleanor Crook
• Screening of The Midnight Archive with director Ronni Thomas and musical group The Real Tuesday Weld

ILLUSTRATED LECTURES INCLUDE

• The history of medical museums with Dr. Sam Alberti, director of the Hunterian Museum and author of Morbid Curiosities: Medical Museums in Nineteenth-Century Britain
• An evening of "extreme taxidermy" with Pat Morris, author of Walter Potter and his Museum of Curious Taxidermy
• Death themed cabarets of fin de siècle Paris with Vadim Kosmos 
• Leondardo Da Vinci and his dissection drawings with Martin Clayton, Curator at The Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, in tandem with the exhibition Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist at Buckingham Palace
• A history of the preservation and collection of human tattoos with scholar and blogger Gemma Angel
• Bad Vibrations: The History of the idea of Music as a Disease with author Dr James Kennaway
• Strange Attractor's Mark Pilkington on 'Royal Raymond Rife and his Oscillating Beam Ray'

FULL LIST OF EVENTS

Monday, 3rd September 2012, 7 PM
Granta Magazine - Medicine Issue Launch

Tuesday, 4th September 2012, 7 PM
Robert Marbury - Rogue Taxidermy in the Digital Age

Wednesday, 5th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr Sam Alberti of The Hunterian Museum on the History of Medical Museums

Thursday, 6 September 2012, 6-8 PM
Opening Reception for "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," Sponsored by Hendricks Gin

Saturday, 8th September 2012, 11 AM - 5:30 PM
'Congress for Curious People' Seminar - London Edition

Monday, 10th September 2012, 7 PM
Ronni Thomas and The Real Tuesday Weld - 'Midnight Archive' screening

Tuesday, 11th September 2012, 7 PM
Martin Clayton on Leonardo Da Vinci and Dissection

Wednesday, 12th September 2012, 7 PM
Curious Cafés of the Belle Epoque with Vadim Kosmos

Monday, 17th September 2012, 7 PM
Gemma Angel on the History of Human Tattoos

Wednesday, 19th September 2012, 7 PM
Field Trip to St Bart's Pathology Museum with Lecture by Joanna Ebenstein

Thursday, 20th September 2012, 7 PM
Paul Craddock - History of Blood Transfusions

Tuesday, 25th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr. James Kennaway - Bad Vibrations

Wednesday, 26th September 2012, 7 PM
Dr. Pat Morris - Extreme Taxidermy: Elephants and Humans

Thursday, 27th September 2012, 7 PM
Royal Raymond Rife and his Oscillating Beam Ray with Mark Pilkington

Sunday, 30th September 2012, 7 PM
Eleanor Crook on Plastic Surgery of the World Wars

EXHIBITION INFO

Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy
An exhibition of photographs by Joanna Ebenstein of the Morbid Anatomy Blog, The Morbid Anatomy Library and Observatory Gallery, Brooklyn with waxworks by Eleanor Crook and Sigrid Sarda.
Viktor Wynde Fine Art, 11 Mare Street, London, E8 4RP
Click here to download Invitation

In her many projects, ranging from photography to curation to writing, New York based Joanna Ebenstein utilizes a combination of art and scholarship to tease out the ways in which the pre-rational roots of modernity are sublimated into ostensibly "purely rational" cultural activities such as science and medicine.

Much of her work uses this approach to investigate historical moments or artifacts where art and science, death and beauty, spectacle and edification, faith and empiricism meet in ways that trouble contemporary categorical expectations.

In the exhibition "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses" Ebenstein turns this approach to an examination of the uncanny and powerfully resonant representations of the dead, martyred, and anatomized body in Italy, monuments to humankind's quest to eternally preserve the corporeal body and defeat death in arenas sacred and profane.

The artifacts she finds in both the churches, charnel houeses and anatomical museums of Italy complicate our ideas of the proper roles of--and divisions between--science and religion, death and beauty; art and science; eros and thanatos; sacred and profane; body and soul.

In this exhibition, you will be introduced to tantalizing visions of death made beautiful, uncanny monuments to the human dream of life eternal. You will meet "Blessed Ismelda Lambertini," an adolescent who fell into a fatal swoon of overwhelming joy at the moment of her first communion with Jesus Christ, now commemorated in a chillingly beautiful wax effigy in a Bolognese church; The Slashed Beauty, swooning with a grace at once spiritual and worldly as she makes a solemn offering of her immaculate viscera; Saint Vittoria, with slashed neck and golden ringlets, her waxen form reliquary to her own powerful bones; and the magnificent and troubling Anatomical Venuses, rapturously ecstatic life-sized wax women reclining voluptuously on silk and velvet cushions, asleep in their crystal coffins, awaiting animation by inquisitive hands eager to dissect them into their dozens of demountable, exactingly anatomically correct, wax parts.

You can find out more about the exhibition here and more about the events here. All of the above images are drawn from the exhibition "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," opening at Viktor Wynde's Fine Art on September 6th with a reception from 6-8, and will be on view through the end of the month. And a special shout out to Jessica Pepper, who so expertly and beautifully retouched these images.

Human Anatomy, Jan Švankmajer, “Historia Naturae,” 1967

A gif animation of some human anatomy from Jan Švankmajer's “Historia Naturae” (1967), as found on the Wunderkammer blog. You can watch this delightful film in its entirety by clicking here.

"A Healthy Mania for the Macabre," Stephen T. Asma, The Chronicle for Higher Education

The new morbid curiosity... may be a pendulum swing back toward the sublime and the philosophical—a new secular foray into the morbid territory that religion previously charted. One way to avoid deeper engagement with death is to paint it entirely from the crude palette of emotions like disgust and fear. We've already got plenty of that kind of "morbid" in popular culture. But awe and wonder need to be restored to our experience of death, and we're not sure how to do it in a post-religious culture.

--"A Healthy Mania for the Macabre," Stephen T. Asma, The Chronicle for Higher Education

The above is excerpted from a characteristically thoughtful and erudite piece by Stephen Asma, one of my all-time favorite scholars and author of the fantastic Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads. The piece--entitled "A Healthy Mania for the Macabre"--explores the current uptick of interest in all things macabre, and situates it within the history ofspectacular morbid display from memento mori to Frederik Ruysch to Gunther von Hagens; It also features interesting quotations from interviews with morbid art collector Richard Harris, charnel house obsessive and Empire of Death author Paul Koudounaris, and yours truly.

You can read the entire article by clicking here. I very highly recommend it!

Image: Clemente Susini (probably): Slashed Beauty, wax, human hair, pearls, rosewood and Venetian glass case, ca 1790, La Specola, Museo di Storia Naturale, Florence, Italy; From the Anatomical Theatre exhibition

Wax Model of a Decomposing Body in a Walnut Coffin, Italy, 1774-1800, The Science Museum, London

Wax model of a decomposing body in a walnut coffin, Italy, 1774-1800

The body in this wooden coffin is in a severe state of decomposition. It may have had two purposes: as ‘memento mori’, a reminder of death, or as a teaching aid. The figure is surrounded by three frogs. Frogs are symbols of rebirth and regeneration because they change so much in their lifetimes. Wax modelling was used in Europe to create religious effigies. From the 1600s, they were also used to teach anatomy. The creation of wax anatomical models, centred in Italy, was based on observing real corpses. The museum known as La Specola, or ‘the observatory’, in Florence was famous for its wax collection.

Found in the always delightful Macabre and Beautifully Grotesque Facebook Group.

Dried Cadavers on Display in a "Terrible Example of Tyranny," Ferdinand I, Fifteenth Century Naples

In an interesting 15th century precursor to spectacular displays of human bodies such as Gunther von Hagen's Body Worlds:

Ferdinand I [of Naples (1423 – 1494)], Alfonso II's long-reigning father, had filled an exhibition hall of Castel Nuovo with the mummified remains of his enemies. Paolo Giovio, the sixteenth-century bishop, doctor, and biographer, writes in Historiarum sue temporis: "They say that these dried cadavers were displayed, pickled with herbs, a frightful sight, in the dress they wore when alive and with the same ornaments, so that by this terrible example of tyranny, those who did not wish to be similarly served might be properly afraid."

Just one of the fascinating revelations in the wonderful book Naples Declared: A Walk Around the Bay, by Benjamin Taylor. Another writer--Jacob Burckhardt, in his The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy of 1878 --described it thusly:

Besides hunting, which he practiced regardless of all rights of property, his pleasures were of two kinds: he liked to have his opponents near him, either alive in well-guarded prisons, or dead and embalmed, dressed in the costume which they wore in their lifetime. Fearing no one, he would take great pleasure in conducting his guests on a tour of his prized “museum of mummies.”

And wow; looks like this made an appearance on The Borgias as well; I guess I had better consider giving that show another chance.

Image source: Wikipedia

Quay Brothers Retrospective in New York City! "On Deciphering the Pharmacist's Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets," Museum of Modern Art, NYC

I just had the honor to view the beautifully installed and revelatory Quay Brothers retrospective "On Deciphering the Pharmacist's Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I have long been a fan of the Quay's work, and still, this exhibition had much to astonish, delight and surprise, situating the Quay's work within the larger context of an avant-garde tradition, and revealing the Quay's oeuvre to be much broader and richer than expected. Surprises and highlights included pen and ink drawings evoking a slightly less whimsical Edward Gorey, a mini-exhibition of the of the kind of Polish theater posters from the 1960s which inspired much of their work, and paintings by a scientific illustrator who mentored them in high school. Also of special interest, at least to me, was a collection of 8 mm Eastern European travel films which The Quay's collected as inspiration for their work; these grainy and blurred snatches of dark and forgotten streets, shop windows with wax mannequin heads, and church interior possess much of the atmosphere, mystery, and powerful detail evident the Quay's best works; they serve as both an excellent introduction to the exhibition and an illuminating key to their film work.

If you are able to visit the exhibition--which I very highly recommend!--make very sure not to miss the bottom floor portion of the exhibit, where you will find a collection of The Quay Brother's dioramic film decors installed in what feels like a furtive peepshow, a sort of perverse and surrealistic Musée Mécanique. Here you can immerse yourself in the tiny and exquisite sets from such films as Street of Crocodiles; Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme; The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes; and The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer; their wealth of detail rewards a careful and slow eye. Also, make sure to set some time aside to watch the films, many of which play in mini-theatres set up within the exhibition; the ballet piece The Sandman was an especial revelation to this viewer; dance and the Quays go surprisingly well together.

As we see in this exhibition, the through line of The Quay's long and storied careers--which has spanned drawing, painting, film, animation, theater and graphic design, and dioramic "film decors"-- is a sense of mysterious and compelling atmosphere created by an exacting and exquisite attention to detail: the craquelure of antique objects, a perfectly fractured piece of glass, the patina of caked on dirt, the hand-rendered imperfection of calligraphic script, the artful use of shadow, and, above all, a wonderful wit and humor that counterbalances the unapologetic inscrutability of the work. Do not miss this exhibition! You will never look at the work of the Quay Brothers the same way again. In a good way!

The exhibition will be on view at New York Museum of Modern Art from August 12–January 7.You can find out about the exhibition here. Also, the museum will be hosting a series of screenings of Quay Brothers films running the duration of the exhibition; you can find out more about that here.

All above images were taken in the exhibition.

"Objectify This: Female Anatomy Dissected and Displayed," Exhibition Curated by Street Anatomy's Vanessa Ruiz, September 7-29, Chicago

Just received notice of the very exciting looking exhibition "Objectify This: Female Anatomy Dissected" curated by Vanessa Ruiz, founder of the wonderful Street Anatomy Blog; images from the show above, and full info follows:

'OBJECTIFY THIS: Female Anatomy Dissected and Displayed', a group exhibition of paintings and illustrations featuring the underlying anatomy of the female body.

September 7th – September 29th
Design Cloud Gallery
118 N. Peoria St. 2N, Chicago, IL

Opening event Friday, September 7th, 6–10p.m. with burlesque performances by Chicago's Vaudezilla troupe.

Throughout time, female anatomical illustration has evoked a multitude of feelings beyond simple academic representation. It's one of the reasons why the male form has been the exemplum of the human body throughout time, with the female being illustrated only as the variation in terms of reproductive organs and surface anatomy. This gallery show seeks to portray females only in relation to other females. It will compel viewers to question the objectivity surrounding ‘female anatomy’ and define—or re-define—their own perceptions through the art, perspectives, literature, and live burlesque performances.

Featured artists: Fernando Vicente, Jason Levesque, Cake, Michael Reedy, Emily Evans, Danny Quirk, Pole Ka, Tristan des Limbes, Amylin Loglisci.

You can find out more by clicking here.

Images, Top to bottom (click on images to see larger version):

1. "American Housewife" by Fernando Vicente
2. "Anatomical Meluxine" by Jason Levesque, 2012
3. "Christina" by Danny Quirk, 2010

On The Curious Victorian Phenomenon of Exactingly Produced Miniature Butcher Shops, Collector's Weekly, 2012

PETA would never approve: This grisly 1840 doll-sized butcher shop with miniature animal carcasses and a floor covered in sawdust and blood would be shockingly graphic to our modern sensibilities. After all, here in the 21st century, we like to remain cheerfully oblivious about where our meat products come from.

But in Victorian times, such detailed model butcher shops were not uncommon, says Sarah Louise Wood, a curator at the Museum of Childhood at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The real question is: Why exactly do such things exist?
--Baby’s First Butcher Shop, Circa 1900, Collector's Weekly, Lisa Hix

Find out more by about this forgotten art by reading the entirety of "Baby’s First Butcher Shop, Circa 1900"  on the Collector's Weekly website by clicking here.

All images drawn from the Collector's Weekly website. You can see larger copies by clicking on images, and find out more by clicking here.

JOB OPENING: Administrative Assistant, Library, New York Academy of Medicine, New York City

The Malloch Rare Book Room at the New York Academy of Medicine.

Another job alert just in from the wonderful New York Academy of Medicine! Full details follow:

Title: Administrative Assistant
Division: Library

The Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health at the New York Academy of Medicine is looking for an energetic, motivated and highly organized Administrative Assistant. The Assistant will report to the Center Director, be responsible for the day to day administration of the Center and provide support to the Director and other staff members in the delivery of programs and activities.

The Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health is NYAM’s newest Center, and this position offers an outstanding opportunity for an administrator looking to develop the range and depth of his or her skills and expertise. The role will suit an individual who is keen to take on new challenges. The Administrative Assistant will be offered the opportunity to develop specialized skills as needed by the Center. Candidates with an interest in developing public programming and using social media to build audiences are particularly welcome.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage the day to day administration of the Center
• Provide administrative support for the Director, and other department members when appropriate, including coordinating schedules and managing calendars
• Assist in research, preparation and follow-up of funding proposals
• Organize meetings for internal and external participants
• Maintain office budgets and invoicing requests
• Help plan events and programming
• Coordinate arrangements for speakers and workshop and seminar participants
• Organize and maintain filing systems and other records
•  Help manage the online presence of the Center

Qualifications

Required

• 3-5 years of related administrative experience
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
• Attention to detail, accuracy and consistency in executing tasks
• Problem solving skills and ability to work independently
• Ability to manage many projects in fast-paced environment and meet deadlines
• Ability to quickly learn and apply new skills
• Excellent computer and web skills including Microsoft Office Suite 
• Good grammatical, writing, proofreading, and editing ability
• Ability to interact with internal and external individuals at all levels in a professional manner

Desirable

• Familiarity with database software
• Experience using social media
• An interest in history, medicine, health, or policy issues.

Experience

Bachelor’s degree preferred or equivalent.

To Apply

Please email a resume and cover letter to hr@nyam.org.

Please include "Administrative Assistant” in subject line.

For more information, visit our website: www.nyam.org.

The New York Academy of Medicine is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.The New York Academy of Medicine advances the health of people in cities. An independent organization since 1847, NYAM addresses the health challenges facing the world's urban populations through interdisciplinary approaches to policy leadership, education, community engagement and innovative research.

Drawing on the expertise of diverse partners worldwide and more than 2,000 elected Fellows from across the professions, our current priorities are

To create environments in cities that support healthy aging
To strengthen systems that prevent disease and promote the public's health
To implement interventions that eliminate health disparities
Summary and Description

Mission of the Institution

The New York Academy of Medicine advances the health of people in cities. An independent organization since 1847, NYAM addresses the health challenges facing the world's urban populations through interdisciplinary approaches to policy leadership, evaluation, education, community engagement and innovative research.

Drawing on the expertise of diverse partners worldwide and more than 2,000 elected Fellows from across the professions, our current priorities are

• To create environments in cities that support healthy aging
• To strengthen systems that prevent disease and promote the public's health
• To implement interventions that eliminate health disparities

The Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health

The New York Academy of Medicine Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health promotes the scholarly and public understanding of the history of medicine and public health and the history of the book. The Center is made up of the Library, Rare Book and Historical Collection and Gladys Brooks Conservation Laboratory.  The Center aims to develop connections between an interdisciplinary community of scholars, educators, clinicians, curatorial and conservation professionals, and public audiences.

The NYAM Library opened its collections to the general public in 1878, and remains the only independent research library in NYC offering access to medical and health information for members of the public. The Research Library has a collection that includes over 500,000 volumes, 275,000 portraits and illustrations and around 400,000 pamphlets.  The collection comprises primary and secondary materials in the history of medicine, public health, science and other health-related disciplines. The collection is supported by an extensive reference collection of medical bibliography, biography, biographical dictionaries, dictionaries and library catalogues, as well as books on the history of books and printing.

The Center’s Rare Book and Historical Collections include a rare book collection of approximately 35,000 volumes.  Books from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries are a particular strength, as are materials related to the history of medicine in the City of New York.

The Gladys Brooks Book and Paper Conservation Laboratory was established in 1982 for the express purpose of caring for the NYAM collections.  In addition to its preservation mandate, the Lab also plays an important role in the training of future generations of conservators through its internship and volunteer programs and offers professional educational opportunities through a robust calendar of workshops and lectures.

You can find out more here.