History Center » Rare Books
Rare Books
The Stanford Medical History Center has a treasure trove of over 7,600 rare books related to health care going back to the 13th century. This collection includes herbals, illustrated anatomies, guides for midwives, historical medical dictionaries, and books on hundreds of other topics in English, German, French, Latin, Arabic, Italian, and many other languages.
To find books in this collection, use Lane Library's online catalog, using the "limits" icon in the lower right-hand corner to limit your search to specific years of publication (e.g., 1500-1600, or up to 1725).
Like all other materials at the Stanford Medical History Center, the rare and sometimes fragile state of these rare books requires that they not circulate. However, they are available to be reviewed on-site in the History Center, and for most of our materials researchers are welcome to use our state-of-the-art digitization equipment to reproduce content from our collections.
Current Exhibit
Contact Us
- Drew Bourn, PhD, MLISin (
CAP profile),
Historical Curator - 650-725-8045
Hours & Directions
- Center is open by appointment only
Monday - Friday
9:00 am - 4:30 pm - to schedule an appointment
- Stanford Medical History Center
300 Pasteur Drive, Room L109
Stanford, CA
94305-5123 - Directions