Tools of the trade

Portrait of a physician in his library. 
Oil on canvas by Cornelius Johnson, 1637
2008.8

We cannot identify the sitter in this portrait for certain, but we know that he is a doctor – not from his clothing, but from the selection of books on the shelves behind him, partially obscured by a curtain.   

This doctor’s library contains works by several medical writers, all key texts for doctors studying medicine at university; the ancient Greek authors Hippocrates (5th–4th century BCE) and Galen (129–c.216), the Roman Aulus Cornelius Celsus (c.25–c.50 BCE) and the 16th-century Belgian and Swiss doctors Vesalius (1514–1564) and Paracelsus (1493–1541). The New Testament in Greek is also shown open on the table, open to a suitable passage: ‘the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations’ (Revelation 22:2).  

Possible candidates for the sitter include 17th-century physicians John Bathurst, Thomas Browne, John Colladon and Lewin Fludd.

Purchased with grants from The Art Fund, the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Beecroft Bequest and generous donations from fellows and members, 2008 

De medicina [On medicine]
Aulus Cornelius Celsus, published Florence, 1478
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This is the oldest printed medical book in the library and one of the most lavish. Gold ink was used to decorate the initial letters and the polished bottle-green leather binding, with striking carnation-pink watered silk linings, was crafted by the 18th-century Parisian master bookbinder, Nicolas-Denis Derome (1731–1790). 

Celsus (c.25 BCE–c.50 CE), though less famous today than Hippocrates or Galen, was a key source for medical students; excerpts from his works appeared in in the RCP membership exam until 1933. 

Bequeathed by David Lloyd Roberts FRCP (1835–1920) 

Coacae praenotiones [Precognitions from the island of Kos] 
Hippocrates, with commentary by Louis Duret, published Paris, 1621 
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Many of the books in this exhibition have been annotated by previous owners and users. Whether or not we can identify who made them, these marks can tell us much about how books were read and about the lives of the people who owned them. 

In the 17th century, a student at the University of Cambridge spent considerable time and energy reading this book over the course of several weeks. They left annotations in English, as well as in Greek and Latin – languages that were vital to a physician’s formal education. This student may have been Richard Kidder, a former apothecary who studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and later became Bishop of Bath and Wells. His annotations include accounts of patients he treated. 

The snippets of printed text in Greek here are from a compilation of Hippocrates’ ‘prognostic aphorisms’, or short statements about the course of diseases – in this example diseases of the liver. The extensive printed Latin text taking up most of each page is a translation and explanation of the Greek by French royal physician Louis Duret. 

Acquired before 1899 

Al-qanun fi'l-tibb [The canon of medicine]
Ibn Sīnā, known as Avicenna, published Rome, 1593
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William Harvey (1578–1657) is the RCP’s most famous historical fellow, who famously demonstrated how blood circulates round the body. His father-in-law, Lancelot Browne (c.1545–1605), owned and annotated this work by the 10th–11th century Muslim writer Avicenna. Avicenna’s Canon of medicine was a key text for medical students, though most European readers would not have approached it in its original Arabic. 

On these pages, Browne grapples with the book’s classification and description of spiders. His annotations – in Greek, Arabic, and Latin – suggest an effort to consolidate his knowledge across multiple languages and traditions. He traces the origins and meanings of Arabic terms, identifying several as Greek words written in Arabic letters, and compares the text with two different Latin translations.  

Though familiar with Avicenna’s work, Browne likely found this a challenging book to read; his notes also confront textual errors and inconsistencies, revealing both the complexity of the material and his desire to reconcile its multiple versions. 

Donated by William Harvey (1578–1657) 

De viribus membrorum spiritualium [On the spiritual power of the parts of the body] 
Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim (known as Paracelsus), published Strasbourg 1572 
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Paracelsus was a deeply controversial physician and writer. He challenged the medical status quo by preferring knowledge borne of experience over knowledge learnt from books, and by advocating for the use of chemical – rather than plant- or animal-based – medicines. Despite this, he slowly came to be added to the canon of medical authorities and his name is included on the bookshelves of the ‘Portrait of an unknown physician’, displayed in this exhibition.   

In this section on the strength of the heart, the reader has marked several German words and given their Latin translations in the margins. We might assume that they were more familiar with Latin terminology than German and were perhaps reading this with a dictionary by their side.  

Donated by Grace Pierrepont (1635–1703)

Textbook of medicine
Edited by John Josias Conybeare, published Edinburgh, 1943.  Sixth edition. 
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Over centuries of medical research, preferred textbooks change but methods of learning sometimes remain remarkably similar.  

Cardiologist Cecil Symons (1921–1987) studied this 20th-century textbook by annotating its contents, including with rudimentary human figures. The body drawn here is marked with the common locations of spots in chickenpox: a visual reminder of the written information in the book. 

Donated by Jean Symons Hon FRCP (1928–2018) 

Habit de Medecin [The doctor’s outfit]
Copperplate etching by Nicolás de Larmessin II, c.1695
Yale University Library 

Printmaker Nicolás de Larmessin’s image of a physician satirises the profession’s reliance on books. In the image, a doctor wears an academic gown seemingly made from books, labelled with authors’ names. They include ancient Greek writers Hippocrates and Galen; Byzantine writer Paulus Aegineta; Persian writers Avicenna and Rhazes; Arabic writers Averroes, Avenzoar, Haly Abbas and Mesue; Hebrew writer Moses Maimonides; and the medieval European writers Bernard de Gordon and Arnaldus de Villanova. On his head, the doctor wears an academic beret with an owl sitting on top, representing wisdom. 

The physician’s task was to diagnose disease and recommend necessary treatments. On the table in front of him are three diagnostic tools: vertical and horizontal flasks used for examining a patients’ urine and a bowl containing a sample of bile. A prescription (Ordonnance) contains a list of plants to be used as a medicine. Directions issue forth from the doctor’s mouth in the form of lightning bolts. The first three – clysters (enemas), bloodletting, and cupping – were the work of surgeons. The second three – laxatives, juleps (syrup-based drinks) and emetics (medicines that induce vomiting) – would all be made and dispensed by apothecaries (pharmacists).  

Pietro de Montagnana in his study. Woodcut title page illustration from Fasciculus medicinae  
Johannes de Ketham (attrib.), published Venice, 1500
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Photography by Mike Fear 

Italian physician Pietro de Montagnana (d.1478) is depicted in his library, writing a work about urines that is included in the compendium of useful medical texts titled Fasciculus medicinae.  

On the shelf above him are volumes by Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna, Haly Abbas, Rhazes, Mesue and Averroes, while the open book on the stand on his desk is Pliny’s Historia naturalis (Natural history). Other books are placed haphazardly in the cupboard below and on the ground in front.  

In the foreground, three patients have brought urine samples in wicker baskets for Pietro de Montagnana to examine – this is done in his library, rather than in an examination room. In the 15th century, doctors commonly diagnosed diseases by examining the colour, texture, smell and taste of urine.  

A physician in his study. Woodcut illustration from Breuiary of healthe
Andrew Boorde, published London, 1556
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Photography John Chase   

A physician sits in deep contemplation, clutching a scroll in his left hand. Around him are numerous books – piled up on shelves, resting on a lectern and even on the floor. There are no medical instruments in this image, but it is unmistakably of a doctor, possibly a portrait of English physician Andrew Boorde (c.1490–1549). The books in the image serve to assure the reader of Boorde’s Breuiary [summary] of healthe; that the author was expert and deeply knowledgeable.