THE ·OSLER·LI BRARY·NEWSLE TTER· NUMBER 103 · 2005 Osler Library of the History of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal (Québec) Canada • IN THIS ISSUE THE CUSHING – CAMAC CORRESPONDENCE THIS SPRING THE AMERICAN OSLER SOCIETY n 1980 Jack McGovern and I held its thirty-fifth annual meeting in Pasadena, published a book we called Student California, to honour the career of Dr. Earl Nation, I and Chief; the Osler-Camac Corres- pondence. In the introduction it was urologist, medical historian, Charter Member of the explained that C.N.B. Camac’s American Osler Society, and a dynamic Oslerian who papers, collected in three large this year celebrates his 95th birthday. Long familiar to the scrapbooks, are in the Huntington Osler staff, Dr. Nation has published four books about Library. In addition to the Osler William Osler, including the two volume An Annotated letters, and many other things, there are several letters from Harvey Checklist of Osleriana, plus about 300 articles on the topics Cushing. These reflect a friendship of urology, chemistry, history and humanism. To underline going back to their days in training his publications, Dr. John Carson recently compiled An at Johns Hopkins. Unfortunately, Annotated Checklist of Nationiana. In our newsletter Dr. Nation Camac kept few copies of his own turns his attention to a series of letters, (which narrowly letters. escaped destruction) between Osler’s biographer Dr. One charming note from Cushing to Camac is not there but is found in Harvey Cushing, (1869-1939) and Dr. Charles Camac, John Fulton’s biography of Cushing (1868-1940) who in 1896 became Osler’s Assistant (p. 135). First, let us set the stage for Resident in Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. These it. Camac had succeeded William fascinating letters provide insight into how Cushing Sydney Thayer as Assistant Resident prepared for his biography of Osler and testify to his in Medicine at Johns Hopkins in Photograph of Harvey Cushing 1896. Cushing had left Massachusetts gratitude to Charles Camac for his help in the huge General Hospital for Johns Hopkins inscribed in December 1924 undertaking. in the fall of 1896 to become surgical to Wilder Penfield. resident under Halsted. Cushing was Courtesy of Yale University, Dr. Earl Nation received a “Carrie A. Nation” quilt then 27 years old. In September 1897 Cushing Harvey/John Hay Whitney stitched by Donna Hennessee Bryan at the annual developed acute appendicitis. His Medical Library and Wilder American Osler Society banquet held at the Huntington account of his own illness and Penfield Archive, Osler Library. Library. The pattern honours Dr. Nation’s Great Aunt operation are told graphically by Fulton. On September 28, 1897 Carrie, redoubtable temperance and anti-tobacco Harvey Cushing left a note in his Despite a wound disruption Cushing crusader. friend Camac’s room just before was able to attend Camac’s wedding going into surgery for an in New York City two months later. appendectomy: At Christmas that year there came a copy of Shakespeare’s sonnets, As I have often told patients, there is published by T.M. Dent & Co., a certain amount of danger in all Aldine House, London. Camac wrote operations; similarly some danger in “December 25, 1897” in it. Cushing getting on to a streetcar – about even appended a reference to sonnet they are. Quae cum ita sint. I write you XXIX, marked, “Mein lieblingsvers, a small missive giving you the H.W.C.” This sonnet begins: privilege of distributing my things, books etc. among the staff. ‘Auf • wiedersehen,’ I hope. ·1· • When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital them for they are a precious lot. I I all alone beweep my outcast state Huntington Avenue have taken the liberty of copying a And trouble deaf heaven with my footless cries and Francis Street few of them, and others have been And look upon myself and curse my fate Mail address, Fenway Station of value in enabling me to locate him Wishing me like one more rich in hope, Boston 17 at various times and places. Please look up in letter no. 91 and March 17, 1920 let me know what the joke was about After one year at Johns Hopkins, My Dear Charles; “Counsels and Ideals”. I cant [sic] read …this during which he also became well It is long since I have written to you the second word. missive is to acquainted with William Osler, or heard from you. The occasion for What a ten-strike you made with Camac moved to New York City to this missive is to let you know that the admirable selection of quotations let you know join his brother-in-law, Henry D. Lady Osler has shouldered me with a[n]d how pleased they both were that Lady Nicoll in the practice of medicine. He the task of undertaking W.O.’s with it. It must have been an later became director of the biography. I wi[s]h that she had lit enormous satisfaction to you. Osler has laboratory of clinical pathology in upon you, for you are so familiar with Mackall tells me that you are getting shouldered me the Cornell School of Medicine. his writing that you could have done ready for another edition, which The first Cushing letter to appear it not only with much less labor but ought to have as great a success [as] with the in Camac’s collection is one written infinitely better. However, I shall the first. I am so glad you are doing task of by hand in 1909. It followed the have to do what I can with the help it. publication in that year by Camac of of his many friends. I must have written to you after undertaking Epoch-Making Contributions to Medicine, Now, will you, when you have Lady Osler asked me to attempt the W.O.’s Surgery and the Allied Sciences: time, go over your letters and let me biography, to jot down for me the have every little scrap that you have things which you ran across of an biography. I Dr. Harvey Cushing from him, adding dates so far as you autobiographical nature; such things 107 East Chase St. can, for he rarely put anything down as you might not be likely to utilize wi[s]h that Baltimore, except to enumerate the day. yourself for your own purposes. she had lit Will you also, when you are going You must be hard at it as the rest Dear Charles, over his writings for the new edition of us are trying to get reestablished upon you,… The Epoch-making Contributions of “Counsels and Ideals” which after our army service period. I hope are bully – what a good idea it was! Mackall tells me you are preparing – everything goes well with you, and I And you have gone about the matter will you, I say, bear in mind this shall try and drop in on you any time with your usual delightful touch. I am matter and note down all things I am in New York. so glad you sent me a copy and I which are of biographical interest so expect you to inscribe it someday far as he is concerned. He put a good Always affectionately yours, when you are hereabouts. I shall hand deal of himself into his writings from Harvey Cushing on the one I purchased to some other. time to time, and it will spare me PSS. Everyone ought to have a copy and I enormously if while you are making I am sending you a copy of the reprint hope it will have a huge sale. But that this review you will keep his own of the Classical Association address. is not why you did it, I know, and I biography, as well, in the back of your I wrote the preamble early in January envy you the fun you had ‘a doing of head. at the request of Houghton Mifflin it’. I do hope that you have a large before I knew I was to be shouldered batch of letters and that there may with this important task. 1909 be some long ones, though even bare Ever affect. notes on post cards are desired. In the second paragraph of the letter Harvey Cushing above Cushing asks Camac to look Always sincerely yours, up Osler’s letter numbered by Camac In 1905 Camac had published his Harvey Cushing “91”. This letter is to be found in Counsels and Ideals From the Writings of Student and Chief on page 71. It is dated William Osler. There is no acknow- A month later Cushing is returning Sept.25 [08]. Toward the end Osler ledgement of this first edition of to Camac the Osler correspondence writes: “I am glad to see the “Counsels Camac’s book at the time by Cushing, he had sent in response to Cushing’s and Sidevils,” as I heard it called, has although he refers to it in the next request: reached a 4th impression, & such a letter in the collection. This followed success it has had.” the war years and the death of Sir Peter Bent Brigham Hospital On May 1, 1920 there follows William Osler. Meantime a shipment 721 Huntington Avenue, Boston 17, another letter from Cushing, once of Camac’s book had gone down with Mass. again expressing his wonderment at a ship from England sunk by a German having been chosen by Lady Osler submarine and he was working on a April 28, 1920 to write the biography. The new, enlarged edition which was Dear Charles, enigmatic reference to Camac’s notes finally published in 1921, with a I am sending back your Osler letters and reminiscences is not answered in second impression in 1929.