Arts & Culture

They thought the books had burned in 1895, but they were hiding in plain sight

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, rediscovered the centuries-old medical and anatomical texts.

Greenwood was conducting a “presentation 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 and Amanda Greenwood inspecting a rare medical book

Meggan Cashwell, left, and Amanda Greenwood, right, discuss a book likely belonging to Robley Dunglison, UVA’s first medical professor. Dunglison came to UVA from England. (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 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 Heather Riser and Gayle Cooper, two librarians in Special Collections, who pointed Greenwood to resources that confirmed the eight books she found had been in the Rotunda at the time of the fire.

an open book showing an illustration of an anatomical drawing of a human skull

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 the University Librarian (there was only one at the time) used to mark ownership. Many have shelf markings noting exactly 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.

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One of the texts bears Robley Dunglison’s name on the title page, indicating it may have been his personal copy. An English physician, Dunglison was among the first faculty members Thomas Jefferson recruited after founding the University in 1819. He went on to become the first full-time professor of medicine in the United States – a rarity at the time because most medical professors maintained private practices. Jefferson, however, required UVA faculty to devote themselves solely to teaching.

Greenwood and Cashwell said what makes the books rare is not just their age, but the marginalia, handwritten notes from readers. One student notebook on display contains illegible scribbles and drawings of different men.

pages of an old book showing drawings and notes on classmates

An old book bears writing and sketches from distracted 19th-century students. Then, as now, students were prone to doodling and writing notes in books, Cashwell says. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

“We sometimes forget that people were just as human then as we are now. We do have that student presence in our archive,” Cashwell said.

Students were also borrowing these books from the library, rather than paying for them out of pocket, meaning they were less likely to take care of them. Some books carry soot marks – not from the Rotunda fire, but from being read in front of a fireplace.

The books on display in the exhibition are only a small selection of the library’s collection, which goes back to the 15th century and also includes more modern, digital-born texts.

The exhibition is open through January.