Collection P072 - John Howell Evans Collection

Open original Digital object

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

John Howell Evans Collection

General material designation

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Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Based on the documents in the collection.

Level of description

Collection

Repository

Reference code

CA OSLER P072

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Statement of scale (cartographic)

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Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1887-1889 (Creation)
    Creator
    Evans, J. Howell (John Howell), 1871-

Physical description area

Physical description

4 cm of textual records.
Approximately 700 lithographs.

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1871-1962)

Biographical history

J.H. Evans, an Oxford-trained physician, was a British surgeon specializing in cancer. He knew William Osler, who encouraged his collecting of prints and inspired his early interest in the history of medicine. Evans gathered a collection of medical engravings.

Custodial history

Purchased by the Osler Library in 1960. Old accession numbers 30, 86, 89, 214 and 306.

Scope and content

Collection contains over 700 prints of portraits, mostly English physicians of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but also pathological illustrations from the late 1860s to the mid-1920s. The collection includes papers, clippings and reprints associated with the portraits. The collection contains examples of various types of prints, including mezzotints, line, etchings, lithographs, and stipple. Approximately 56 of the finest mezzotints are framed and glazed. A large number of the prints are taken from such works as Pettigrew's Medical Portrait Gallery, Layland's Contemporary Medical Men, Kay's Edinburgh Portraits, and from the Gentleman's Magazine and the European Magazine. There are a number of early photographs of British medical men made by the London Stereoscopic Company. There are several bundles of portraits of foreign medical worthies, comprising quite a good representative collection of early prints. Many of these are taken from Sambucus' Icones (1603). The total number of foreign portraits is, however, quite small, and it seems obvious that the British portraits represent Mr. Evans's main interest. One bundle contains engravings of notorious quacks such as Valentine Greatrakes, Joshua Ward, and Chevalier Taylor. Apart from portraits, there are a few of the well-known subject prints. These include two or three of Teniers's pictures of barber-surgeons and quacks, a fine mezzotint of Rembrandt's Anatomy, the Siege of Warwick Lane, and some caricatures. There is also a set of the Vanity Fair cartoons of the 19th century medical men by "Spy" and "Ape", apparently complete and with accompanying biographical sketches.

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

Textual records have been digitized. A selection of the portraits have been digitized and are available from the Osler Library Prints Collection

Restrictions on access

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

Typed catalogue of the collection available. This is an exact copy of a rough manuscript catalogue made by Mr. Howell Evans. The catalogue lists between 800 and 900 items. It deals only with portrait prints.

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Accruals

Alternative identifier(s)

Osler Database ID

4591

Osler Fonds ID

62

Osler Alternate ID

P72

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Physical storage

  • Box: 1 (P072, P073, P074)