11 Spring 2019 Issue 11
In this Spring 2019 issue of the Journal, we present an eclectic mix of articles: from a discussion of the Crystal Palace dinosaur models as heritage artefacts, to an assessment of a game designed to teach history of medicine to nurses, and a study of the conservation of an eighteenth century clock. You’ll also find a mini-collection of papers on the theme of wounds, in which you can enjoy some fairly gruesome descriptions of early modern facial surgery, a discussion of Ambroise Paré’s innovative treatment of gunshot wounds, and a study of the role of processions in healing societies fractured by plague. We’re very proud to include the winning entry from last year’s writing prize, Jules Skotnes-Brown’s From the White Man’s Grave to the White Man’s home?. The judges were impressed by the way the author cleverly compares visitor accounts and curatorial intentions for the 1924/25 British Empire Exhibition, challenging our understanding of how the exhibition was actually experienced by audiences. Two further articles present research on the Science Museum Group’s own collection – Annie Thwaite’s study of ten significant amulets, and Julie Ackroyd’s search for the provenance of a beautiful seventeenth century medical chest – and we conclude with an obituary of the influential and much-loved academic, Jeff Hughes. We hope you enjoy reading Issue 11.
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Editorial
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Wounded: ‘They had no fever…’ Ambroise Paré (1510–1590) and his method of gunshot wounds management
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Wounded: ‘A small Scar will be much discerned’: treating facial wounds in early modern Britain
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Wounded: Healing communal wounds: processions and plague in sixteenth-century Mantua
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Mind-Boggling Medical History: creating a medical history game for nurses
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A discourse with deep time: the extinct animals of Crystal Palace Park as heritage artefacts
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From the White Man’s Grave to the White Man’s Home? Experiencing ‘Tropical Africa’ at the 1924–25 British Empire Exhibition
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A history of amulets in ten objects
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The provenance and context of the Giustiniani Medicine Chest
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A royal gift? Mrs Strangways Horner’s small silver clock, 1740
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In memoriam: Jeff Hughes, 1965–2018
Featured content
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‘They had no fever…’ Ambroise Paré (1510–1590) and his method of gunshot wounds management
The paper deals with new surgical paradigm elaborated by French surgeon Ambroise Paré, who proposed a version of wound care where the cauterising was replaced with ligature of vessels and healing balm dressing.
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From the White Man’s Grave to the White Man’s Home? Experiencing ‘Tropical Africa’ at the 1924–25 British Empire Exhibition
This article analyses the exhibition and reception of Tropical Africa at the 1924–25 British Empire Exhibition, drawing attention to affect, the senses, and spatiality. It emphasises the need to look beyond curatorial intent and consider the multiplicity of potential experiences within World’s Fairs.
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A discourse with deep time: the extinct animals of Crystal Palace Park as heritage artefacts
This essay addresses the transformation of the prehistoric animal models exhibited in Crystal Palace Park from scientific models, initially yoked to British heritage through rhetoric, to objects recognised as historically significant and worthy of conservation.
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A history of amulets in ten objects
This article presents a historical survey of ten amulets using objects from the Science Museum collections. What can we learn about the place of amulets in the larger narrative of European healing from the early modern era to the present day?