Uncovering our Medical Instruments

Written by on June 23, 2016

We recently appointed a Digitisation Project Intern for Uncovering our Medical Instruments, a project which aims to make our collections much more accessible and visible. Kirsty will be photographing and researching our instrument collection, and sharing them as much as possible, via this blog, @RCPSGlibrary and the Museum Collection pages on our website.

Opthalmic Mask Higher Exposure

Ophthalmic Phantom, c1900 – 1920 (for teaching eye surgery)

The project will delve into our Instrument Store to uncover medical and surgical instruments and equipment that is rarely seen. These collections date from the 18th – 20th century, many with a link to Glasgow. As well as making these collections more visible online, the project will also contribute to our exhibition programme and pop-up displays.

Photography set up 3

Pop-up studio

So far Kirsty has been trying out some new kit and testing backgrounds. Many of the instruments are metallic so achieving the right conditions for digitisation can be challenging. The collections also vary in size, from tiny surgical needles to heavy respiratory equipment. Some items can’t be displayed traditionally, so we will develop digital displays to complement our exhibition space.

WT microscope side view high contrast

Wilson Type Microscope

Uncovering our Medical Instruments is a nine month project, kindly supported by Museums Galleries Scotland. During that time, we hope to provide access to hundreds more instruments from our collections.

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About Us

The College’s heritage collections – including thousands of medical and surgical instruments, rare books, archives, and pictures – span over 6 centuries and are an excellent resource for exploring the history of medicine and the history of the city of Glasgow. Many items from the collections have been digitised and are available to view here. Our digitisation work is ongoing, and we add new items to the site regularly, so keep checking back to discover more.

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