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Sara Sue Merritt
Week 8
Annotated Bibliography Draft
3-13-2012
Angier, Natalie. "Bone, a Masterpiece of Elastic Strength." The New York Times.
www.NYTimes.com, 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/28angi.html>.This article not
only discusses the contributions made to medical knowledge through the study of
Harry Raymond Eastlack's skeleton, but also covers the topic of current medical
knowledge about bones and bone formation in humans. The article is rich in
information specifically how healthy and unhealthy bones and the skeletal system
functions and repairs itself. This article was very helpful in giving me some
understanding of the science behind skeletal formation and function, and
comprehending the severe pathology of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva
(FOP). This article helped to put a lot of my knowledge about Eastlack's skeleton
and condition during life into a medical perspective.
Bell, Whitfield J. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia: A Bicentennial History.
Canton, MA: Science History Publications, U.S.A., 1987. Print. This book is
the first complete account of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia's history to
be compiled since 1887. It is based on the College's archives and other documents
and records. This book has been very helpful in my research, because I cannot
begin to tell the history of the Mutter Museum without first addressing the History
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of the College to which it belongs. An eerie feeling swept over me as I read the
last pages of the book, because it seemed to me that the recounting of the
College's history just abruptly stopped. In reality, there was no more history to
address at the time the book was written. But over 20 years has passed, and I feel
that it is my turn to continue the story.
Besse, H. Diploteratology: Or a History of Some of the Most Wonderful Human Beings
That Have Ever Lived in Double Form. Delaware Ohio: Gazette Steam Book
and Job Office, 1874. Print. This book provided a historic view on some of the
most famous cases of conjoined twins in history. Mainly focusing on cases from
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this book was an amazing source of
medical insight into the study of teratology from a nineteenth century physician
and teratology specialist. I found this book to be extremely helpful in my research
of Change and Eng Bunker, as they were the main focus of the book. While
reading, I noticed that the Mutter Museum's textual information accompanying the
death cast of Chang and Eng seems to be taken almost word for word out of
passages from this book.
Bondeson, Jan. The Two-Headed Boy, and Other Medical Marvels. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell UP, 2000. Print. This book discusses the histories of different
individuals and legends with peculiar or rare afflictions and conditions, and
analyzes it through social, historical, and medical contexts. This book was as
much for pleasure as it was for researching about the unusual and extraordinary
body on display in medical historical contexts. It helped me to understand the
previous centuries' view of some of the conditions and peculiarities illustrated by
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objects on display in the Mütter Museum.
Blumberg, Mark Samuel. Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us about
Development and Evolution. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print. In this book
Bloomberg approaches cases of human and animal anomalies from a biological
and scientific perspective. Bloomberg claims that extreme physical anomalies are
not cruel biological flukes, but are possible vehicles through which evolution can
progress. While not essential to my research concerning the Mütter Museum, this
book proved helpful in giving me a rudimentary understanding of medical
anomalies and their sometimes extreme and always rare effects on the human
body.
C.D.W. "Letter From Philadelphia: Annual Conversazione at the College of
Physicians-Sketch of the College-The Mütter Museum-The Library of the
College-Commencement at the University-Election of Emeritus Professor of
Physiology-Regulation of Vivisection-Resignation of the Professor of
Anatomy in the Jefferson Medical College." JAMA: The Journal of the
American Medical Association IV.22 (1885): 612-14. Http://jama.ama-assn.org.
JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.
<http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/IV/22/612.full.pdf+html?frame=sidebar>.
This article is a wonderful 19th century account of the practices and concerns of
the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and its Museum and Historical Medical
Library. This proved to be very helpful in my research by giving me an invaluable
perspective on the College and its practices during its formative years. Particularly
interesting, was reading about how the College at that time was deliberating the
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new regulations and restrictions on vivisection (dissection of a living being) as
practiced by local medical schools.
College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Charter, Ordinances and By-Laws of the
College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Phiadelphia: T.K. and P.G. Collins,
Printers, 1851. Http://book.google.com. Google Books. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=7IEPAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover
&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>. This
publication describes the basic rules, ordinances and structure of the College of
Physicians of Philadelphia, as well as its Library and the Mutter Museum. It was
very helpful to read about how the medical museum was used by medical students
and physicians to study medicine, as well as read about the early principles and
standard for the Fellows of the College during its formative years.
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Transactions of the College of Physicians
of Philadelphia. Vol. 13. Philadelphia: Printed for the College, 1908. Ser. 3.
Books.google.com. Google Books. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=s9gCAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover
&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=mutter&f=false>. This
report covered all of the transactions, newly appointed Fellows and Council
members, and lectures presented at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in
1908. It was interesting to read about the Mutter Museum and its “new” quarters,
which is the very building it is in today. I was also able to see what medical topics
many of the physicians at the time were particularly interested in.
Crane, Susan A. "Memory, Distortion, and History in the Museum." History and
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Theory 36.4 (1997): 44-63. Www.jstor.org. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/2505574>. This article addresses the problems of
memory and interpretation in relation to the expectations of museum visitors.
When their expectations are not met, a sort of “distortion” happens between the
visitors’ expectations and their personal experience in and of the museum. I am
not really sure if this article was helpful other than it eased my personal anxieties
dealing with expectations of what I thought the Mütter Museum would be (an
eerie and macabre experience) opposed to the reality of what it is (an educational
and informative history of medical practice surrounding an American and
Philadelphian centric narrative.)
Ensminger, Peter A. "A Visit to the Mutter Museum." AMWA Journal 24.1 (2009):
47-49. Www.amwa.org. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.amwa.org/default/publications/journal/vol24.1/v24n1.047.memb
er_musings.pdf>. This brief article covers the basic history of the Mutter as well
as some of the more famous pieces in their collection. This article was helpful in
my research because it suggested a book "The Anatomy Museum: Death and the
Body Displayed" and led me to an interview with Gretchen Worden on NPR.
Unfortunately, the book is not yet available for purchase.
Freud, Sigmund, and Hugh Haughton. The Uncanny. Trans. David McLintock. New
York: Penguin, 2003. Print. In this essay, Freud addresses his musings on the
uncanny. He defines it as a common reaction to reminders of death and morbidity,
which seems both familiar and unfamiliar, and highlights uncomfortable feelings
within the person experiencing these effects. This essay helped to frame my
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evocative chapter essay "The Skeleton of Harry Raymond Eastlack," in providing
the theory to set up my theme of reflection on death, family history and tradition,
and personal identity. On a personal note, I also chose to reference Freud in order
to pay homage to the grandfather I mentioned in my evocative chapter. He was a
Freud enthusiast. I remember him often saying “Freud would have said this about
that,” or something along those lines. When my grandfather died, I inherited his
shrine to Freud. One piece from that shrine is a picture of a young Freud, and it
was the only photograph I took with me to my first year of college. The nearly
life-size gold bust was too heavy to pack.
Goldstein, Josh. "Renowned Mütter Museum Takes Its Artifacts Off the Shelf and
Puts Them to Work." The Philadelphia Inquirer. Www.Philly.com, 2009.
Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.healthtechzone.com/news/2009/01/11/3904253.htm>. This article
addresses how some of the Mütter Museum's collections, like the Hyrtl skulls and
wet specimens of cholera-infected intestines, are currently helping scientists and
medical researchers today in their medical research. This article proves how the
Mütter Museum continues its original goals of promoting medical education and
study, even though the majority of the collections and specimens are over 100
years old.
Gonzalez-Crussi, Frank. Suspended Animation: Six Essays on the Preservation of
Bodily Parts. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1995. Print. This book is a collection
of personal essays written by a medical intern reflecting on natural medical
phenomena, as well as her personal experiences working in hospitals in Spain and
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Mexico. The goal of this book isn't to shock or disgust, but to imbue a sense of
wonder in the reader when it comes to human development and the human
condition. This book was not necessarily vital to my overall research, but it was
entertaining and gave me a context to current and past medical practices and the
pathological body on display.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania. "Philadelphia: History." City-Data.com.
Advameg, Inc., 2009. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://www.city-data.com/uscities/The-Northeast/Philadelphia-History.html>. This specific text covers the
early history of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, giving great detail in particular to
the Quakers who founded and influenced the development of this city and state.
This article has been very helpful because one cannot begin to talk about
Philadelphia's history without addressing Quakers or the Society of Friends, who
are still active in the city today. Many accomplished physicians in Philadelphia's
history and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia's history were Quakers or
came from a Quaker background. While researching about Quakers in general, I
have come up with a theory that the commonly used, usually derogatory, term
"quack" for physicians probably stemmed from the many Quaker physicians in
America and Europe during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
Hunt, William, comp. Records of the Autopsy of Chang and Eng Bunker. 1874-1875.
This compilation contained handwritten letters, minutes, contracts and receipts for
payment associated with the autopsy of Chang and Eng Bunker which was
performed inside the Mutter Museum in 1874. I was unable to read almost half of
all the documents because of my inability to decipher some of the handwriting.
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However, the very act of touching such old and original documents was absolutely
awe inspiring, and I learned a little something about the amount of money put into
dissecting the famous twins.
Jones, Nora. The Mütter Museum: The Body as Spectacle, Specimen, and Art. Diss.
Temple University, 2002. United States of America: UMI Dissertation
Services, 2002. Print. This dissertation focuses on how the author believes that
viewers give meaning to visual objects, specifically the visitors at the Mütter
Museum and how they interpret the pathological body on display. The dissertation
also addresses the author's research and data gathering processes and fieldwork
conducted in the Mütter Museum. This dissertation proved to be essential for my
research paper, because it was a well-written scholarly inquiry and assessment of
the objects on display at the Mütter Museum and how visitors interpret and view
them. This outsider/insider (she was both) perspective of the museum was honest
and refreshing.
Kaplan, MD, Frederick S., Robert J. Pignolo, MD, David L. Glaser, MD, and Eileen
M. Shore, PhD. The Seventeenth Annual Report of the Fibrodysplasia
Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) Collaborative Research Project. Rep. IFOPA.org,
Apr. 2008. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <www.ifopa.org/en/component/.../211seventeenth-annual-report.html>. This scientific and medical report addresses
the current FOP research and endeavor to better treat, research, understand and
eventually (hopefully) cure this rare, yet horribly afflicting genetic disorder. This
was all written after the discovery of the specific gene responsible for causing
FOP (in 2006.) This report was mostly filled with medical jargon and vernacular
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that was beyond me, but it was helpful in giving me context into the mystery and
peculiarities that relate to the rarity and gruesome effects of FOP. This article also
addresses the Skeleton of Harry Raymond Eastlack, and how studying it was
integral to a lot of the progress and breakthroughs in researching FOP.
Kimmelman, Michael. "Human Hairballs ’R’ Us." The New York Times.
Www.NYTimes.com, 15 July 2011. Web. 2 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/magazine/you-are-here-philadelphiasfreaky-museum.html>. This article approaches the Mütter Museum and its
collection and display methods in a way I am not sure I fully agree with. Likening
the museum to shock inducing sideshows and 19th century "dime museums," it
was more focused on the exploitative and entertainment aspects of the body on
display. I feel that the author almost undermined the museum's (in my opinion)
more noble endeavors to educate. This article was helpful to read in that it
reaffirmed some other perspectives on the Mütter Museum, while still showing
yet another that is usually under-addressed, that the museum has made some great
changes in the past few decades to leave behind that sideshow exploitation
dynamic.
Leroi, Armand Marie. Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body. New
York: Viking, 2003. Print. This book approaches the topic of medical anomalies
focusing on genetic codes and explanations for such. The book also includes first
hand accounts from historical figures that suffered from congenital anomalies and
strives to portray their experiences in a scientific and humane way. This book was
not essential to my research regarding the Mütter Museum, but it did give me
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some medical and scientific background knowledge to some of the congenital
malformation and deformities on display.
Lindgren, Laura. Mütter Museum: Historic Medical Photographs. New York: Blast,
2007. Print. This book specifically addresses medical photography practices and
subject matters in a mostly historical context focused around the Mütter Museum's
personal collection of historical medical photographs, primarily dating from the
19th century. This book not only covers the historical significance of photography
in documenting medical practices and patients' cases, but also addresses some of
the history of the Mütter Museum. This book was a very helpful introduction to
the Mütter Museum and to one of the exhibits that was showing while I was there.
Some of the very photographs from this book as well as another on this list were
the actual objects on display in the museum during my visit.
Maeser, Thomas. "A Few Hundred People Turned To Bone: Medical Researchers
Struggle to Understand—and Hope Eventually to Cure—a Bizarre and
Little-known Disease That Slowly but Inescapably Turns Its Victims into
Masses of Solid Bone." Atlantic Magazine. Www.TheAtlantic.com, Feb. 1998.
Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/02/afew-hundred-people-turned-to-bone/4887/3/?single_page=true>. This article
discusses in depth the current and past experts on FOP, the current research and
breakthroughs in the study of this rare genetic disorder, as well as some very
helpful information about how bone formation in general happens regularly and in
the case of FOP. This article provided helpful information about FOP as well as
the current ongoing endeavor to help and treat those suffering from this disease.
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Specifically, this article proved helpful when researching and writing for my
evocative object chapter about the skeleton of Harry Raymond Eastlack, who
during his lifetime suffered from FOP.
McAneny, DJ. "Philadelphia's Mütter Museum Goes Digital with New Webisodes."
Gloucester County Times. 08 Jan. 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.nj.com/gloucestercounty/towns/index.ssf/2010/01/philadelphia_museum_goes_digit.html.> This
article discusses the Mütter Museum's recent endeavor to expand its influence into
the worldwide web and allow its audience more access to the museum's collection
as well as provide informative resources. This article gave an outside perspective
about the museum's public relations.
Mitchell, Silas W., and Owen J. Wister. "Registration of Tuberculosis: Special
Meeting of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Philadelphia, Held Jan.
12, 1894, the President, S. WEIR MITCHELL, M. D., in the Chair." JAMA:
The Journal of the American Medical Association XXII.7 (1894): 222-26.
Http://jama.ama-assn.org. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical
Association. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://jama.amaassn.org/content/XXII/7/222.full.pdf+html?frame=sidebar>. This article
discusses a meeting between the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Philadelphia to deliberate on their suggestions to the city's Board of Health as to
the preventative measures and public services they could provide to treat and
contain the tuberculosis epidemic sweeping the city. This article me a wonderful
example how the College and its Fellows were seen as authorities on health and
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medicine, as well as gave m a historical example of the influence they held within
their community.
Moses, Nancy. "Pessaries: Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of
Philadelphia." Lost in the Museum: Buried Treasures and the Stories They Tell.
Lanham, MD: Altamira, 2008. 59-68. Http://book.google.com. Google Books.
Web. 20 Feb. 2012.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=soKaIm76kHgC&pg=PA59&source=gbs
_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false>. In this chapter, Moses talks about her
time with Gretchen Worden while visiting the Mutter Museum. She tells how
Worden in her nearly 30 years working at the museum had turned it into the
popular museum it is today. This is really important because under the direction of
Worden, the museum truly began to enter a new era of awareness by and for the
general public.
Pancoast, M.D., William H. Report on the Surgical Consideration in Regard to the
Propriety of an Operation for the Separation of Eng and Chang Bunker,
Commonly Known as the Siamese Twins. May 5, 1875. Print. This report
contains information about the events leading up to the death of Chang and Eng
Bunker as well as the account of Dr. Pancoast and other Fellows of the College of
Physicians of Philadelphia while acquiring the bodies of Chang and Eng. The
report describes in detail the internal organs of the famous twins and is
accompanied by anatomically incorrect, yet beautiful, lithograph prints of their
internal organs and conjoined livers. This report was extremely informative
because it provided the first hand account of the men who were there to explore
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the mysteries of the deceased bodies of Chang and Eng Bunker.
Quigley, Christine. "Collections." Skulls and Skeletons: Human Bone Collections
and Accumulations. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &,, 2001. 99-154.
Http://book.google.com. Google Books. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=tTST7UFzncoC&pg=PA50&source=gbs_
toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q=mutter&f=false>. This specific chapter mostly
focuses on the various collection accumulated by Fellows of the College of
Physicians of Philadelphia and collection acquired by them in the 19th century.
This chapter proved very helpful in giving me some historical context about the
collecting practices surrounding medical collections in the 19th century,
specifically in regards to the Mütter Museum.
Rifkin, Benjamin A., Michael J. Ackerman, and Judith Folkenberg. Human
Anatomy: From the Renaissance to the Digital Age. New York: Abrams, 2005.
Print. This book covers centuries of medical art and its progression through time
in relevance to the practice of medicine throughout history. This book provided
the medical illustrations on display in the Museum historical context in the field of
medicine. I recognized many works on display, such as those by Andreas Vesalius
and Henry Vandyke Carter, and how truly rare and valuable the original copies of
the books exhibited that hold them are.
Smith, Virginia A. "Mütter Vision Its New Gretchen Worden Gallery Honors the
Late Director, Whose Unique Way of Looking at the Weird Medical Museum
Did Not Involve Rose-Colored Glasses." Http://articles.philly.com. Philly.com,
19 Sept. 2005. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://articles.philly.com/2005-09-
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19/news/25429175_1_new-gallery-collections-manager-treasures>. This article
mainly discusses the opening of the Mütter Museum's new Gretchen Worden
Gallery, dedicated the late Director and dedicated employee of the museum. The
article addresses the museum's history as well as Gretchen Worden's
accomplishments while employed there and the legacy she left behind. This article
reaffirming my research on Gretchen Worden and the advances she made in
publicity and the museum's practices while she worked there for almost 30 years.
Steele, Allison. "Museum Pieces: Pins Fished From Inside an Infant."
Http://articles.philly.com. Philly.com, 11 Sept. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.
<http://articles.philly.com/2011-09-11/news/30142057_1_pins-joseph-burkeburke-family>. This article talks about how the collections at the Mütter Museum
don't just hold relics and practices of patients and physicians long dead and gone.
In fact, in the Chevalier Jackson collection, a man and his family were able to see
the multitude of pins Dr. Jackson personally removed from the father when he
was an infant in 1923. This article alludes to just how much of Philadelphia’s
history is still currently embedded in the Mütter Museum.
Strausbaugh, John. "A Curator's Tastes Were All Too Human." The New York
Times [New York] 11 Oct. 2005. NYTimes.com. The New York Times, 11 Oct.
2005. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/11/arts/design/11mutt.html>. This article
was written to memorialize Gretchen Worden's almost 30-year career at the
Mütter Museum. It covers the events surrounding the opening of the museum's
new Gretchen Worden Gallery that was once a storeroom that was renovated
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specifically to become an exhibition space dedicated to the late museum Director.
This article was a reverent view on the impact of one of the museum's most
dedicated and successful employees, and illustrated some of the legacy she left
behind.
VolunteerMatch. "College of Physicians of Philadelphia's Mütter Museum."
Www.volunteermatch.org. VolunteerMatch, 1998-2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org54200.jsp>. This website helps
people who wish to volunteer for a nonprofit organization, find one that best will
suit their interests. This specific page provides a summary of the Mütter Museum
and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia's mission statements. This site was
very helpful, because I found it difficult to find the Mutter's mission statement
anywhere else, even on their website.
Wade, Ella N., comp. Catalogue of the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians of
Philadelphia. United States of America, 1947-1949. Print. This literally is a
catalogue of all the holdings of the Mütter Museum from 1863-1949. It informed
me of the number of objects in the Mutter Museum and how they were classified,
as well as a list of all of the donors of the objects. The most valuable information I
gleaned from this catalogue is that most of the donors were Fellows of the College
their widows. This gave me a clearer understanding of the museum's collecting
practices and the origin of the objects on display.
Warner, John Harley, and James M. Edmonson. Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of
Passage in American Medicine, 1880-1930. New York: Blast, 2009. Print. This
book describes and illustrates the time-honored tradition of cadaver dissection as
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the medical student's rite of passage into medical education, from the mid 19th
century to the mid 20th century. This book was not only very interesting and
visually pleasing, but also gave me valuable insight into the 19th and 20th century
world of medical education and medical practice. It helped to put the 19th century
medical practice on display in the Mütter Museum in a clearer historical context.
Witcomb, Andrea. "Unmasking a Different Museum." Re-imagining the Museum:
Beyond the Mausoleum. London: Routledge, 2003. 13-26. Print. This chapter
mainly addresses the author's argument for the need to reassess how museums as
institutions reinforce power relations and structures, all within a social, political
and nationalistic dialogue as well as in a historical context. This chapter proved
essential for creating my thesis for my museum research paper, which argues that
the Mütter Museum, unlike other museums, does not actively try to hide their
histories of promoting different power dialogues.
Worden, Gretchen. Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. New
York: Blast, 2002. Print. This book is mainly a collection of artistic photos of
objects from the Mütter's pathological specimen collection. The book features
information about the museum's pathological collection and the museum’s past
collaborations with contemporary artists. This provided extra information for one
of the exhibits on display at the Mütter Museum that was designed and curated as
a companion piece to this and Laura Lindgren's book.