Sometimes, history is not just found in books. Historical medical objects can also be “read.” They tell us, for example, how they were designed for a particular purpose and ultimately put to use, thereby offering a glimpse into medicine in earlier times.
Under the thematic focus of “Library of Things,” the recently published Journal of Medical History (Volume 61, Issue 3, 2026) therefore examines the significance of medical history collections and their objects for research and teaching. An introductory prologue and ten further contributions demonstrate the special potential that collections possess as material repositories of knowledge and culture, and how their objects can be used in research and teaching. The Medical History Collection at RUB played a key role in the conception and production of this issue.
The volume can be accessed online via the Franz Steiner Verlag website or in print, for example, at the library of the Institute for History and Ethics of Medicine.
