McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Herbert Stanley Birkett Fonds
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on the content of the fonds.
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
CA OSLER P141
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
9 m of textual records
approximately 100 photographs
approximately 30 artifacts
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
(1864-1942)
Biographical history
Herbert Stanley Birkett (1864-1942), C.B., V.D., M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.C. (C.), F.A.C.S., received his M.D. from McGill University in 1886. He specialized in otology and laryngology and was associated in practice with Dr. Frank Buller. In 1893, he became Lecturer in Laryngology at McGill and in 1895 he was appointed as Chair in the subject. Birkett was instrumental in developing the departments of Otolaryngology at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) and at McGill University. During World War I, Birkett helped organize and command the No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) in France, and became assistant director-general of the Canadian Army Medical Corps earning the rank of Brigadier-General in 1918. From 1914-1921, Birkett was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill and received an honourary degree of LL.D in 1921. Dr. and Mrs. Birkett had one daughter together, named Winifred L. Birkett.
Custodial history
Accession 903. Old accession number 861/66-72 is also associated with material found in this collection (as written on folder 11). The collection was accumulated by Dr. H. S. Birkett, then passed to his daughter Winifred L. Birkett, and bequeathed to the Osler Library and McGill Faculty of Medicine upon her death in 1993. The collection arrived at the Osler Library in two parts: (1) upon the death of Winifred L. Birkett, and (2) during renovations at RVH when a storage room full of the late Dr. H. S. Birkett’s “medical books, medical photos and medical memorabilia” was discovered and transferred to the Osler Library in 1995. The second lot included items of furniture that were sold to antiques dealer Francis Lord (of Milord Inc., 1810 Notre Dame Ouest, Montreal QC H3J 1MS) ca. 1995-96 due to lack of library space at the time. Francis Lord had purchased other items from the estate in 1993-94. Detailed correspondence about the acquisitions from the Estate of Winifred L. Birkett can be found in the Osler Library accession records.
Scope and content
The collection consists of documents pertaining to Dr. H. S. Birkett's medical activities, including 117 bound volumes of patient records (1889-1942), medical notebooks (1893-1896), bound RVH reports (1894-1938), RVH charts (1901-1920) and registers (1899-1917). There are also various letters addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Birkett, a manuscript, newspaper clippings, various degrees and medical association certificates, as well as photographs of H. S. Birkett's personal life and professional life at McGill and elsewhere. The collection also includes various artifacts collected by H. S. B, including military and medical memorabilia collected by H. S. Birkett.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script note
The documents are in English.
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Series 3 contains some patient records which are restricted under privacy legislation (100 years since date of document).
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Items can be requested for consultation online via the Library Catalogue or by email at osler.library@mcgill.ca. Advance notice is recommended.
Finding aids
Associated materials
Accruals
Alternative identifier(s)
Osler Database ID
4660
Osler Fonds ID
133