I was recently asked the date and subject of our earliest fellowship thesis. A quick check on the catalogue showed it was written in December 1893 and titled ‘Scabies in the horse: does it demand legislation?‘ The thesis is a neatly written document accompanied by 12 hand drawn illustrations. Regulations in place at the time […]
In the early days of the RCVS it was not unusual for Council, and other members, to go ‘on tour’ to visit ‘continental veterinary schools’. It is perhaps as a result of these trips that we have a small collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century prospectuses from North American veterinary schools in the Historical […]
Most of the photographs in our collections are portraits of RCVS Council, or other prominent, members of the profession. We do have a few photographs of vets going about their daily work but as far as I am aware the only photograph of the exterior of a veterinary practice is this one of Henry Gray’s […]
Readers of this blog with an interest in veterinary history might like to know about the 41st Congress of the World Association for the History of Veterinary Medicine, hosted by the Veterinary History Society at Imperial College, London from 10-13 September 2014. This event, which is being held in Britain for the first time, will welcome speakers from […]
In January 1828 the first two British veterinary journals started, these were The Veterinarian and the much shorter lived Farrier and naturalist. Both owed their origins to a desire to comment, and pass critical judgement, on the state of affairs at the London veterinary college. The Farrier and naturalist is generally believed to be the […]
We are delighted to announce the publication of a new book: Robert Stordy in Abyssinia: an extraordinary veterinary surgeon The main body of book is an account of an extraordinary journey made by Robert Stordy which is held in our archives. Stordy worked for the colonial veterinary service in British East Africa; in 1911 he decided […]
Our historical collection has over two hundred books on farriery and horse shoeing many of which contain anatomical drawings of the foot of the horse. One such book is Strickland Freeman’s Observations on the mechanism of the horse’s foot its natural spring explained, and a mode of shoeing recommended, by which the foot is defended […]
At 11pm on 4th August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany. That same evening at the Natural History Museum 300 guests were gathered for the conversazione and reception of the 10th International Veterinary Congress. A Congress that had been many years in the planning …. London had been chosen as the venue for the 10th […]
Last Friday the Royal College was delighted to accept a portrait of Lieutenant Vincent Fox from his great grand-nephew. Vincent Fox was killed in action on the 26 August 1914: the first member of the RCVS to die during World War 1. His obituary in the Veterinary Record 3 October 1914, simply read: Vincent Fox, MRCVS, […]
In Volume 5 of The quarterly journal of veterinary science in India, published in 1887, there is a two part article by T J Symonds ‘Illustrations of Indian materia medica’. Thomas J Symonds (?-1892) graduated from the London Veterinary College in December 1870. He entered the Army Veterinary Department in March 1871 and served in the Afghan War […]
