Simon Chaplin, The Royal College of Surgeons of England
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Section on Medical History
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
RSVP
Sponsored by the F. C. Wood Institute for the History of Medicine.
Who--or what --was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's classic gothic thriller The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Was it the 18th-century surgeon and anatomist John Hunter? Simon Chaplin, Director of Museums & Special Collections at The Royal College of Surgeons of England, will explore the role of anatomical museums in managing the social tension between private dissection and public life in 18th-century London. By reconstructing the relationship between anatomy, art and architecture in John Hunter's home, the lecture will show how the “doctor's cabinet” transformed the noisome business of anatomy into a subject of polite interest.