During the recent reordering of the RCVS headquarters a 6 inch square box was found containing a cardboard model and a folded piece of paper. Further investigation revealed it was something rather exciting – the pasteboard model of a horse’s hoof which accompanies Bracy Clark’s two page pamphlet A new exposition of the horses’ hoof. […]
When writing blogs about veterinary authors I usually turn to Frederick Smith’s four volume work The early history of veterinary literature and its British development to see what he has to say. It is unusual to find that Smith does not have an opinion on the author or book in question. We are fortunate to […]
In honour of St David’s Day, the feast day of the patron saint of Wales, I have decided to look at one of the two Welsh language items that we have in our collection Meddyg y fferm arweinydd i drin a gochel clefydau mewn anifeiliad by James Law which was published in 1881. I am […]
The RCVS headquarters tidy-up has revealed another gem, and led us to discover the fascinating story of a troubled man. Eight large prints of paintings by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873), depicting animals and bucolic scenes, have been discovered. Landseer (1802-1873), an English painter, was renowned for his paintings of horses and dogs. Included in his […]
This year National Pet Month runs from 1 April- 6 May. As their web site says they are on a mission to: help promote responsible pet ownership across the UK highlight the important work of pet care professionals and working companion animals raise money for the nation’s pet care charities As a library we have […]
A few weeks ago we were given three photographs by the great granddaughter of Richard Hughes, a well known veterinary surgeon who served on RCVS council from 1922-1934. Richard Hughes, 1856-1951, graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1880. He went on to run a practice in Oswestry from 1882-1926 and was awarded a fellowship of […]
London, like most towns or cities, has lots of plaques commemorating people or events attached to its buildings. Most of these plaques are above eye level and often go unnoticed by people passing by. One such plaque is sited on the left-hand side of Oxford Street, when walking down from Marble Arch, on the block […]
I have recently had the opportunity to look more closely at the almost 400 watercolours by Edward Mayhew that we acquired in 1990. Edward Mayhew (1808-1868) was the brother of Henry Mayhew, founding editor of Punch. It is thought he spent his early years in the theatre before enrolling at the London Veterinary College in […]
A 125 years ago today the first issue of the Veterinary Record was published. I have written about its founder William Hunting and his reasons for starting the journal before. In fact I walk past a reminder of this everyday as his quote in the first editorial about the importance of recording observations and adding to […]
At the recent Veterinary History Society meeting in Edinburgh I took part in a panel discussion with a number of archivists. One of the things we were asked to discuss was what we particularly liked about our collections. I had given this some thought but hadn’t really decided what I would say as there are […]
