Come on a journey back through time to discover how patients were diagnosed and treated through some of the Library’s oldest books in the collection.
From the influence of the stars and the phases of the moon, to healing chants and prayers, the knife-wielding barber-surgeon and game-changing scientific developments of the 19th century, this talk will highlight some of the powerful and enduring ideas in western medicine which have since been debunked and those which we take for granted today.
Join curator Elise Edmonds for a special talk where she will also discuss the exhibition design — the challenge of bringing medical texts to life in ways that draw visitors into an immersive world of old medicine — the desperate remedies, brutal surgeries and lives cut short. You’ll then have the opportunity to visit this new exhibition at your own pace.