Records on the road

With the weather being so beautiful this week, we thought it only fair for some of our collections items to leave the dark, cool store rooms and enjoy some time in the (UV, temperature and humidity controlled) light. Along with the usual readers consulting items, we’ve had a visit from MSc students studying Medicine & Society in Modern Britain who were treated to a look at some of our great Rosslynlee Hospital records during their seminar. Not content with a mere afternoon away from the stores, some records will be out for considerably longer as they feature in two exhibitions opening this weekend. Two of our Andrew Kennedy drawings will sit alongside other masterpieces from University Collections in the second of this series of exhibitions. Andrew Kennedy (1825-1899) was a patient at various Scottish asylums during his lifetime, including the Royal Edinburgh Hospital whose Physician Superintendent collected 34 of his drawings. Masterpieces II, which runs from 31^st March to 30^th June in the Exhibition Room at Edinburgh University Library, features a varied selection including Alexander Fleming’s penicillin mould, a Picasso, 9^th century fragments of the Qur’an and a 16^th century violin. For more information, see www.ed.ac.uk.

Andrew Kennedy drawing: Assalfoot

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Volunteers badge

Finally, a selection of our nursing badges have gone on long-term loan as part of the Unsung Heroes exhibition at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (Out Patient Department 3). They feature alongside artwork created by contemporary jewellers which was inspired by the badges, and oral history testimony collected as part of the project. For more information see http://nursingbadges.wordpress.com/.