For decades, the books were believed lost, numbering among the pieces of University of Virginia history that fell victim to the 1895 Rotunda fire.
Then Amanda Greenwood, an archivist in the University’s Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, discovered centuries-old medical and anatomical texts.
Greenwood was conducting a “preservation check” of items in the library’s vault, ensuring the texts in their collection were in good shape, when something caught her eye.

Meggan Cashwell, left, and Amanda Greenwood, right, discuss a book believed to have survived the Rotunda fire. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)
“I started noticing alphanumeric markings in the books, or some strange things on the spines,” Greenwood said.
She knew colleagues in the Arthur J. Morris Law Library and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, along with some UVA alumni, had already identified and recovered books believed to have been destroyed 130 years ago. In October 1895, students and faculty had rushed to save what books and artworks they could from the fire – caused by faulty electric wiring – that consumed the annex and the Rotunda.
Greenwood showed her discovery to her colleague Meggan Cashwell, the Alvin V. and Nancy Baird Curator of Historical Collections at the Health Sciences Library.
Cashwell advised her to speak with other library colleagues at UVA who have made similar findings. Heather Riser and Gayle Cooper, two librarians at Special Collections, pointed Greenwood to resources that confirmed the eight books she found had been in the Rotunda at the time of the fire.

The illustration in this medical text shows a human skull. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)
The books bear stamps in red or purple ink, which were used to mark ownership. Many have stamps and spine labels markings noting where they would have been located in the Rotunda’s Dome Room, which served as the University’s library.
Dating the texts is a bit like playing detective, Greenwood said. She and her colleagues must carefully examine the books and check with other sources, including a 19th-century library catalog.
The texts cover everything from anatomy to epilepsy to midwifery. They are now on display in the Health Sciences Library for an exhibition celebrating the library’s 50th anniversary and acknowledging more than 200 years of medical classes at the University.