Archives Committee Research Articles

Quo venis quo vadis: the evolution of arthroscopy.

Those of you who are Latin scholars will know that quo venis quo vadis means ‘‘From whence we came to where we are going.’’ I would like to acknowledge Dr. Clint Bell, my Fellow this year, for his tremendous skill in computers, and also the Archives Committee and the administration of AANA for generously providing information when needed. I am going to talk about how arthroscopy came to be, and illustrate the talk by means of history, artifacts, events, and associations that have evolved, plus some memories, and at the end I will try to project where things might go in the future. Historically, man has always had a desire to look inside body cavities and it goes back to the days of Pompeii, when curious people started looking down throats and up rectums. The first person to develop a device to look into a body cavity was Bozzini who, in 1806, presented his ‘‘Lichtleiter’’ to the Rome Academy of Science. It consisted of a candle and a mirror which reflected light into the bladder. He was laughed at and nothing more was heard of Bozzini. Desormaux came along almost 50 years later, in 1853, with his ‘‘gazogene endoscope.’’ Again this was a device whereby light was produced and reflected into the bladder. The fuel source was turpentine and gasoline, which burned in this combustion chamber with smoke coming out of the smoke stack. Just imagine what it would be like to be in a darkened room with this in your bladder and the smell of smoke. Julius Bruck interestingly enough, in 1860, became involved because he was a dentist. Perhaps in those days they thought that bladder stones were similar to teeth. As he knew how to handle hard tissues, he was involved in removing bladder stones. He did this by visualizing them through transillumination, by sticking a glowing hot wire, encased in a goose quill, into the rectum. This was called a ‘‘diaphanoscope.’’ It wasn’t until Edison came along in 1879 that the incandescent light bulb was developed. This was a major step forward. Then Nitze and Leiter developed a cystoscope in 1886 and 4 years later they were able to take photographs. In the early days of photography, the lens always inverted the image. Another significant advance, therefore, was the development of the AMICI prism by the Zeiss Corporation, which brought the images straight up, so that people could easily see what they were looking at through the cameras. Cystoscopy slowly developed over the next few years. Arthroscopy, to the best of our knowledge, first occurred in 1918, when Takagi took a cystoscope and looked inside a knee. His motivation was to try to detect tuberculous knees early. In Japan, if you had a tuberculous knee, the end result was always a stiff ankylosed knee, which was a serious social disability as well as a physical disability. He thought that if he could diagnose the disease early, he might be able to do something to prevent stiffness. His first arthroscope was made in 1931. He made some bigger and some smaller, and he made some with lenses and some without. By 1938, he had produced 12 different arthroscopes, each numbered consecutively. Almost at the same time, on the other side of the world, Eugen Bircher, in Switzerland, was doing the same sort of thing. He was a famous surgeon, but he later gave up surgery and became a politician, and then a Commander in the Swiss Army. He really did not pursue arthroscopy very far, but, in 1921, he wrote on ‘‘arthroendoscopy’’ in the German literature, and used a Jacobaeus laparoscope, made by Wolf Company, using room air for distension of the joint. A few years later, in 1925, Phillip Kreuscher from the Chicago area, wrote in the Illinois Medical Journal, a plea for Address correspondence and reprint requests to Robert W. Jackson, M.D., Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Ave, Dallas, TX 75246, U.S.A. Presented at the 18th Annual Meeting of the Arthroscopy Association of North America, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, April 16, 1999. r 1999 by the Arthroscopy Association of North America 0749-8063/99/1506-0002$3.00/0

Bishop Francis Hodur: Biographical Essays by Joseph Wieczerzak

book reviews325 half of his parishioners left him to become part of a second Polish parish in New Britain some thirty years after he assumed control. But what of the Polish people who were his parishioners? One is struck by the degree to which the factionalism that constantly beset the congregation takes precedence in this history of Sacred Heart over their story of faithful adherence to pastors and parish. According to the author, discord was core to the parochial life of Sacred Heart, resurfacing with well-documented vigor as late as the 1980's. Despite this, the majority of the congregation endured because of "fierce loyalty" and dedication to the Catholic Church. Moreover, a magnificent church, a school, a religious congregation of women, an orphanage, a cemetery, and a home for the aged all emerged as monuments to Polish faith. How could such prodigious growth occur in the face of such turmoil? It appeared that Monsignor Bojnowski must have been more than the brilliant builder. What was the secret of Bojnowski's persistence? One could assume,from the emphasis given to it, that the loyalty of the "people of God" was highly motivated by fear. Thus, the concern that "Americanization" could destroy the Polish kind of faith or the requirement that the people needed annual certification of the reception of Holy Communion (kartkt) might have been the factors that kept many parishioners in line during the Bojnowski administration. But what of the liturgical, devotional, and sacramental life during his, and each succeeding pastorate? Was it rich enough to overcome fear, episodes of rancor, and other negative influences? What, moreover, of the role of other workers in the parish, especially the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception? Was it not possible that this congregation of women, a major conduit of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, did much to enhance the faith of parishioners? Unfortunately , the author is silent on these aspects of the life of the parish. The people of Sacred Heart certainly valued the powerful citadel of institutions that had been created by their first pastor. They must also have relied upon the pastoral gifts that their pastors and other leaders of the parish provided . The role of these still-anonymous parishioners and co-workers in forging New Britain's Polonia should also be told. Dolores Liptak, R.S.M. Catholic Historical and Archival Services West Hartford, Connecticut Bishop Francis Hodur: Biographical Essays. By Joseph Wieczerzak. Edited by Theodore L. Zawistowski. (Boulder: East European Monographs, No. DXXIII. Distributed by Columbia University Press, NewYork. Also available from The Polish National Catholic History and Archives Commission, 515 East Locust Street, Scranton, PA 18505. 1998. Pp. 312.) Bishop Francis Hodur was the founder of the Polish National Catholic Church. His home for fifty-eight of his eighty-six years was located in Scranton, 326book reviews Pennsylvania. From that small city, he created what his Roman Catholic contemporaries viewed as a very dangerous schism and an eroding threat to the traditional loyalty of Polish Catholics to the Pope and the institutional church. Though the number of his followers and the extent of his authority were greatly exaggerated, his domain was still impressive. It included every metropolitan center from the Midwest to the Northeast with scattered outposts elsewhere in the United States plus a few in Canada and Poland. Organized into four dioceses subject to his jurisdiction as the Prime Bishop, his independent church was never to be ignored nor taken for granted. Ironically, the Second Vatican Council and the ecumenical movement intervened . On February 15, 1992, less than forty years after the once-formidable antagonist had died, his church was formally recognized by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II. Francis Hodur was born in Zarki, Poland, on April 1 , 1866.As a theological student , he left for the United States on December 31, 1892, and arrived in New York onJanuary 23, 1893. Accepted as a candidate for the Diocese of Scranton, he finished his studies at Saint Vincent's Seminary, Beatty Pennsylvania. On August 19, 1893, he was ordained by Bishop William O'Hara. Four years later, his obedience to his superior came to an end. A splinter group from Scranton's principal...

Writing the Women's-Hospital History with Medical Records

In 1992 I was commissioned to write a new history of Australia's oldest specialist women's hospital, the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne. The Board of the hospital was conscious of the institution's rich, even notorious history and of the limited public interest usually evoked by hospital histories. Before seeking an historian, the Archives Committee of the Board had resolved that the history should really be a social history of women's reproductive health as seen through the work of the hospital from its founding in 1856 through to 1996. The project's scholarly potential, however, was determined by the astonishing archive of detailed patient medical records which have survived since the 1850s. Dr James Evans, the hospital's historian, knew the riches of the hospital's archives, especially of the medical records; and the committee, in planning for a history had first commissioned Dr Therese Radic to undertake a feasibility study of the raw material. Therese Radic found herself in gas-mask and veil, or at least surgical gown and mask, being led on to the roof of the services block. There stood a small room, a cubby hole. The door had a generous gap which probably prevented damp and leaves and dust and rubbish blew in. Inside, half in bound volumes, half unbound and falling out, were over 14,000 gynaecology case histories, one of the best collections so far found in the English-speaking world. The hospital then appointed an archivist, Robyn Waymouth, who was therefore a part of this project from the beginning. This archive was remarkable because the records were made in the

Sidney Milton Edelstein (1912–1994)

Memorial SIDNEY MILTON EDELSTEIN (1912-1994) ANTHONY S. TRAVIS With the passing of Sidney Edelstein the Society for the History of Technology has lost an irreplaceable friend. Industrialist, bibliophile, and scholar, Edelstein was never happier than when discussing the intricacies of ancient and modern dyestuffs and pigments or the early years of his own career in the held of textile chemistry. Most histori­ ans of technology know about Sidney Edelstein mainly through SHOT’s annual Dexter Prize, which Dexter Chemicals has sponsored since 1968, and through the generous support that enabled Melvin Kranzberg to bring SHOT through its early years. Sidney Edelstein’s held of vision, however, was vast and often hidden by his gentleness and modesty. His spectrum of activities was as broad as that of the colors he loved and lived for. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Edelstein was an outstanding pu­ pil of chemistry at the Baylor School. He entered MIT at the age of sixteen to study chemistry and later in his course took a special inter­ est in the application of microscopy to the study of cellulosic fibers. Returning home, he applied his experience to the needs of the local textile industry, for which mercerization, the treatment of cotton with alkali to enhance sheen and improve dyeing qualities, was a major, but not always well-understood, activity. His success led to a research appointment with the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), followed by posts in industry. Among other things, Edelstein improved the luster of cotton, enabling it to compete with the new rayon. By the end of the 1930s, he was an acknowledged specialist in the use of mercerization to make cotton goods shrinkresistant . Dr. Travis is deputy director of the Sidney M. Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology, and Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Permission to quote from or reprint this memorial may be obtained only from the author. 216 Sidney Milton Edelstein (1912—1994) 217 Sidney M. Edelstein Shortly before the United States entered the Second World War, Edelstein applied his expertise in mercerization to help the Army Quartermaster Corps bring about improvements in the production of mosquito netting. Subsequently, he tackled problems related to the production of camouflage fabrics by studying past technology, namely, the patents of John Mercer, the English colorist who in the mid-19th century discovered the process later named after him. Mer­ cer’s work led Edelstein to experiment with a zinc-based process. This solved the outstanding difficulties, and billions of yards of fabric treated by the new process were supplied to Allied forces. The out­ come of Edelstein’s reputation in problem solving related to textile processing and finishing was the founding of Dexter Chemical Cor­ poration in New York during 1945. In 1940, Edelstein began to collect books and documents related to the history of alchemy and chemistry. Three years later this interest was extended to the history of dyeing technologies. By the end of the 1940s his publications on research into textile processing werejoined by scholarly and popular articles on historical topics. With the inten­ tion of introducing practitioners in the field of textile chemistry to the history of their profession, many of his historical articles were published in the pages of the American Dyestuff Reporter. Edelstein also chaired the archives committee of the AATCC. Frequently, his interests in modern textile-related problems stimulated an investiga­ tion of the past. This was especially the case with static electricity and bleaching. In 1972, thirty of Edelstein’s historical articles were brought together in Historical Notes on the Wet-Processing Industry, a highly readable introduction for specialist and general reader alike. 218 Anthony S. Travis Edelstein’s interest in the chemical past brought new friendships, mainly amateurs like himself interested in the history of alchemy, chemistry, and chemical technology. He encouraged the development and expansion of this interest as secretary of the history of chemistry division of the American Chemical Society, a post that he held for eighteen years. Appropriately, in 1956, during the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the discovery of William Perkin’s mauve (the first aniline dye), Edelstein’s contributions to science and technol...

The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS): The First Twenty-Five Years 1969-1994: History of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery: 2500 BC-AD 1994

On the urging of Richard P. Carroll, MD, the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) initiated a silver anniversary commerative history. The Archives Committee and many other individuals associated with ASOPRS contributed to the information contained in this volume, with the most significant event in the creation of this work being the invitation of Dr Reifler to assume primary authorship. The 488-page Festschrift consists of two major parts: the first, authored by Dr Reifler, is titled<i>History of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery: 2500 bc-ad 1994</i>, while the second,<i>The First Twenty-Five Years</i>, is extensively organized by the editor with 32 other contributors. Each section could stand alone as a significant and unique monograph. Together, they provide the best cumulative history of the field and document the place of ASOPRS in the evolution of the subspecialty. <i>The History of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery: 2500 bc-ad 1994</i>represents the most comprehensive

The integrated management of leisure directorates in UK public libraries

Paper first presented at the Dawson Seminar: Public libraries in the polit ical arena, Loughborough University, September 1993. Traces the emergence of community development as a major concern of UK public libraries, as a means of enabling individuals and groups to acquire more influence over the issues that affect their lives in terms of the quality of life, education, self esteem and self confidence. Notes that this is merely an extension of the motive that led to the growth of the public library movement, the creation of parks and the emphasis given to access to the countryside. Notes the impact of these ideas on Oxfordshire County Council when, in April 1987, it resolved to establish a new com mittee to replace the former Libraries, Museums and Archives Committee. The terms of reference of the new Committee included: undertaking the functions of the Council in relation to libraries, museums, arts, archaeolo gy, archives and records; securing the adequate provision of leisure and recreational facilities throughout the county; and responsibility for the pro duction of the Oxfordshire volumes of the Victoria County History. Concludes that, with the future shape of local government still so uncertain, it is impossible to predict how these large scale leisure and heritage depart ments are likely to evolve.

Clinical chemistry in New York at the founding of the AACC: recollection and remembrance

Abstract The Division on the History of Clinical Chemistry, successor to the Archives Committee of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, has accepted the responsibility for chronicling the origins of its profession and its organization with exhibits, histories of local sections, and biographies of notable figures in clinical chemistry from the past and present. A particularly interesting period in the history of the AACC was that around 1948 when the society was formed. In this report, I have collected and edited the accounts of several early members who recalled their experiences and the hospital laboratory scene at the time of the founding of the AACC in New York.

The Incunabula of Archival Theory and Practice in the United States: J. C. Fitzpatrick's Notes on the Care, Cataloguing, Calendaring and Arranging of Manuscripts and The Public Archives Commission's Uncompleted "Primer of Archival Economy"

In December 1913, when archival theory and practice in the United States was still in its infancy, the Library of Congress published a guide, Notes on the Care, Cataloguing, Calendaring and Arranging of Manuscripts, by a member of its manuscript division staff, John C. Fitzpatrick. The same month the Public Archives Commission's fifth annual conference presented chapter one and chapter five of its proposed "Primer of Archival Economy." The failure of the commission ever to complete and publish its primer had considerable impact on the direction of the archival profession in the United States as it grew to maturity.

Report of the Archives Committee

Report of the Archives Committee

Archives and Society: The First Archival Revolution

President, Society of American Archivists 1983-84 David B. Gracy II has been state archivist of Texas since 1977. He is also senior lecturer on archives and manuscripts in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Texas at Austin. From 1971-1977 he was the archivist for the Southern Labor Archives at Georgia State University, and prior to that he served as archivist of the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech University. Gracy received his Ph.D. in history from Texas Tech in 1971. He served on SAA's Council from 1976-1980 and on the Executive Committee from 1979-1980. He was elected a Fellow of the Society in 1979. Gracy has been active on numerous SAA committees and served as a member of the Editorial Board of the American Archivist from 1976-1979. He has been active in regional archival organizations as well, serving as president of both the Austin Archivists and the Society of Georgia Archivists. Gracy is the author of Archives & Manuscripts: Arrangement and Description and An Introduction to Archives and Manuscripts. He is a member of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and is the United States' representative to the Archives Committee of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History.

A Profile of College and University Archives in the United States

more concerned with its own history as the profession has evolved. This is particularly true of college and university archivists, now the largest group of archivists, defined by employer, in the United States. In an effort update previous surveys, a detailed questionnaire was circulated a 10-percent sample of archivists at institutions of higher education. The results of the survey, reported in this article, are of particular interest in that they include data reflecting the remarkable growth in the number of these archival institutions in the decade of the 1970s. The survey also sheds new light on the nature, strengths, and weaknesses of these programs and represents a baseline from which the developments of the 1980s can be measured. The growth and development of archives at colleges and universities has been monitored periodically through a series of surveys made since the formation in 1949 of the College and University Archives Committee of the Society of American Archivists. In the summer of 1949 the committee conducted a survey among 200 colleges and universities, selected include as wide a range as possible, in order to determine the extent of archival awareness in institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada.1 Eighty-four institutions responded that they had some form of archives or historical manuscript collection, but the picture was generally a bleak one few institutions apparently understood the distinction among institutional records, historical manuscripts, and local public records.

Promoting Historical Consciousness: The Early Archives Committee of the National Council of Negro Women

Although black women's history has captured more attention in recent years, too little research has yet been done. Lack of documentary evidence has presented at least one obstacle. Archival repositories have too often neglected women's records while building collections about great white men; even institutions devoted to documenting black culture have often overlooked black women. Forty years ago the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) recognized that the history of black women was and would continue to be ignored-and took steps to address this problem. Their efforts to collect documents and to promote a historical awareness about black women eventually resulted in the establishment of their own repository-the National Archives for Black Women's History-with rich resources for scholars of Afro-American history, women's studies, and social history. The NCNW, founded in 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune and twenty-nine representatives from fourteen black women's organizations, mainly concentrated on social programs to combat racial oppression. However, only four years after the organization began, Bethune appointed an archives committee, placing an emphasis on black women's history that would influence NCNW activities throughout its history. Bethune was closely connected to two other related efforts. As president of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History from 1936 to 1950, she continued the work of its founder, Carter G. Woodson, who since 1915 had educated black Americans about the necessity of collect-

Spokeswoman for midwifery: Aileen Hogan

Aileen Hogan was a pioneer both of nurse-midwifery and of childbirth education. Through her work for the Maternity Center Association she traveled in the United States and Canada for 15 years teaching parents and nurses about childbirth education. She was the ACNM's first Executive Secretary and she helped organize the International Confederation of Midwives in Washington, D.C. Ms. Hogan was dedicated to preserving the history of nurse-midwifery and she served as the first chair of the Archives Committee of the ACNM.

Entomological Historical Resources in the North Central Branch Area

As a part of the ESA Archives Committee activities a questionnaire was circulated in 1978 to entomology departments and a few other organizations within the North Central Branch area. The purpose of the survey was to locate materials of potential historical value and to determine if such items were being preserved in established archives, in departmental files or in the hands of private individuals (Burke et al. 1979). The response was reasonably good but the information obtained undoubtedly is incomplete. However, the publishing of a preliminary report at this time seems justified. Hopefully, this listing will encourage efforts to preserve the still available old records and to establish archives and stimulate development of definite archival procedures were they do not now exist. Furthermore, it is hoped some historians may be moved to make use of the resource materials in scholarly studies.

Research Note: Documents on the Kiangsi Soviet Period at the Historical Archives Commission of the Kuomintang

Research Note: Documents on the Kiangsi Soviet Period at the Historical Archives Commission of the Kuomintang

A Preliminary Guide to Church Records Repositories. Compiled by Aug. R. Suelflow. Church Archives Committee: Society of American Archivists, 1969. iv + 108 pp. $2.00.

A Preliminary Guide to Church Records Repositories. Compiled by Aug. R. Suelflow. Church Archives Committee: Society of American Archivists, 1969. iv + 108 pp. $2.00.

Changing Times at the Historical Archives Commission of the Kuomintang

Changing Times at the Historical Archives Commission of the Kuomintang

Changing Times at the Historical Archives Commission of the Kuomintang

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

The Status of Business Archives

some time the Committee on Business Archives of the Society of American Archivists felt that a directory of business archivists would be helpful. To make a start on such a directory even though it was realized that coverage would not be complete a questionnaire was sent in May 1968 to over 700 U. S. and Canadian firms.1 The American Records Management Association (ARMA) kindly agreed to let us use its address list. This was weeded to eliminate nonbusiness members and multiple members from the same firm. To include firms not in the ARMA listing, a further selection was made from the Fortune 500 list of corporations. Notices of the project were placed in certain of the library and archival journals. The committee realizes that some business archivists may have been overlooked. The questionnaire was somewhat similar to that used by the College and University Archives Committee in preparing its directory.2 Perhaps because of the questionnaire's origin in a university library, emphasis was placed on information of use to the researcher. This included the date when the archives was established, dates of the holdings, types of records collected, approximate size of the collection, and availability for use. But answers to these questions also revealed the nature and extent of the archives. The definition of business archives included in the letter accompanying the questionnaire was suppied by William Rofes of IBM, a member of the committee.

The Status of College and University Archives

IN 1966 the College and University Archives Committee of the Society of American Archivists undertook the first comprehensive survey of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The purpose was to ascertain, first, if an institutional archives existed, and, second, something about the nature and scope of the operation. In previous years there had been surveys of archival developments of segments of the higher education community. These studies had produced much useful information, but they did not encompass all institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada. The 1966 survey was able with but very few exceptions to reach every accredited college and university in the two countries. In all, 46 institutions in Canada and 1,156 in the United States were surveyed. To carry out the work required the efforts of a small platoon of 44 volunteers. The data were obtained by means of a questionnaire, which though far from perfect was simple enough to encourage wide response and provided a considerable amount of significant information. The questionnaire elicited a wide variety of responses, some irritating, some humorous, nearly all useful. One miniscule college in Pennsylvania returned the unfilled questionnaire with a polite but haughty letter stating that because so many questionnaires had been received it had adopted the policy of answering none of them. One of the volunteers received a caustic letter from the archivist of one of the wealthiest institutions in the country complaining of the lack of a stamped return envelope. In another instance the chairman of the committee had to cool the ire of the president of a rather prestigious institution who was quite angry over what he felt was a misinterpretation of the data supplied by his institution. These were the exceptions, however. The general response was friendly, conscientious, and sincere. The data supplied give us the rough outlines of the state of the archival profession within colleges and universities. Of the institutions contacted, one in Canada and 320 in the United States did not respond to the questionnaire. Undoubtedly the principal reason for the failure of most of these institutions to reply was the fact that they had nothing