CURRENT EXHIBITS

"Not a Cough in a Carload": Images from the Tobacco Industry's Campaign to Hide the Hazards of Smoking

Early in the 20th century, when questions about the health effects of smoking became a topic of widespread discussion, tobacco companies undertook a multifaceted campaign to allay the public's fears. Print ads featuring cigarette-smoking physicians, popular actors, and athletes, as well as pseudo-science were orchestrated to reassure the public that these products were safe. This exhibit is the product of the interdisciplinary collaboration of Robert Jackler, Professor and Chair, Otolaryngology, Head, and Neck Surgery, and Professor of Neurosurgery and Surgery; Laurie Jackler, artist; and Robert Proctor, Professor of History. The display also features selected items from Lane's historical collections.

Lane's Canes

These 19th & 20th century canes are from Lane's medical instruments collection. Once considered an essential part every physician's equipment, canes eventually became fashion statements. They usually had gold, silver, or ivory knobs, and were hollow to store aromatic preparations used to prevent contagion. William Macmichael's 1825 text The Gold-headed Cane (of which Lane owns three editions) made cane-carrying physicians famous.

CENTENNIAL EXHIBITS

Bugs and Drugs: a History of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is an ancient disease; signs of tubercular decay have been found in Egyptian mummies dating from 2400 BCE. The Greeks were the first to describe tuberculosis in detail; they named it phthisis, meaning "I waste away." This exhibit (organized by Virginia Adi and currently on display at Lane) showcases key medical texts from Lane's rich historical collections, and includes descriptions of and remedies for tuberculosis from some of the earliest Greek, Latin, and Arabic medical authors, as well as from more modern authors.

Lane Celebrates 100 Years

Lane Medical Library's first 100 years have seen many changes: from an old stone building in San Francisco to the new integrated knowledge center that is slated to break ground in 2007; from a collection of 35,000 books hand-cataloged in cursive in a thin ledger book to a collection of hundreds of thousands of both print and digital materials managed through an online catalog. This exhibit showcases books and artifacts from Lane's first century, and includes such materials as Levi Cooper Lane's original desk, old photographs, and the original hand-written catalog.

PAST EXHIBITS

Healing HeARTS

Healing HeARTS is a children's advocacy project established by a coalition of staff at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and students at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The mission of the project is to encourage and support the creative expressions of children undergoing treatment and hospitalization for a variety of illnesses. Lane hosted an exhibition of Healing HeARTS artwork from December 2006 through February 2006.

Anatomy of Anatomy

Meryl Levin is a freelance photographer focused on issues of health and social welfare. She is adjunct Faculty Member at the School of Visual Arts, NYC and the author of Anatomy of Anatomy and Beyond the Emergency Room: The Search of Health Care in the SouthBronx.

Encounter Merce: Body and Time

Stanford’s inaugural interdisciplinary exploration through the arts, focuses on the life and art of Merce Cunningham, legendary choreographer, dance innovator, and artistic thinker. The Body and Time portion of this multi-location exhibition featured selections from Cunningham's daily journal chronicling his thoughts via words and drawings focusing on aging through the prism of one whose live has been devoted to movement and the power of the human body.

Great Men of Medicine Medals

An extensive collection of silver and bronze medals depicting and honoring great figures in medicine is currently on display in Lane Library. The medals were created by Abram Belskie, a London native and a former medical sculptor for the New York Medical College.

Stanford Nurse Alumnae

Photos and regalia dating back to the early years of Stanford nursing education were exhibited in honor of National Nurses week, May 6-12, 2004. Inaugurated by Mrs. Lane in 1895, the Lane Hospital Training School for Nurses graduated 217 nurses by 1912.  Eventually changing its name to the Stanford University School of Nursing, the school trained nurses for 79 years both in San Francisco and, after 1959, in Palo Alto. The school closed in April 1974 but still has a very active alumnae who gather annually for the Stanford Nurse Alumnae Spring Luncheon.

Replicas of pre-Columbian Sculptures

Miniature sculptures of a variety of medical conditions, including anxiety and depression from the Island of Jaina, Mexico, a male figure with skin lesions from Colima, Mexico, and a Peruvian Mochica Medicine man.

Interplast Photographs

Dr. David Zlotnick's photographs chronicle the many lives he touched during his 20 years of service to children in developing countries who suffer physically or emotionally from congenital deformity or injury. A devoted pediatrician and longtime friend and volunteer at Lane Library, Dr. Zlotnick and his wife, Caroline, a nurse, played a key role in building and developing Interplast’s programs.

2300 Years of Medical Costumes

Delightful reprints of watercolor pictures depicting distinctive garb of the medical and related professions from the time of Hippocrates to the Napoleonic era. These prints were created by the Swiss illustrator, Warja Honegger-Lavater from the authentic replicas in the University of Rome’s Institute of Medical History. They are currently on display in the large conference room on the main floor of Lane Library.

Translating the Arabic Treasures of Lane

Medical Scholars student Elias Aboujaoude selected representative calligraphy examples of Lane's Arabic rare book and manuscript collection.