Until March 31, visit the Exhibition and discover more about the old printed book from the NOVA Medical School Library.
The Old Printed Book collection of the NOVA Medical School Library comprises 352 works, in 376 volumes. This is a set of works with different origins, since their entry into the institution was formalized, for the most part, through donations from individuals that are part of the Library's special collections.
The oldest work is from the 17th century (1690), 18 are from the 18th century and 333 were printed in the 19th century. Some have stamps, signatures, dedications and handwritten notes.
Of the total of 352 works, 48 are Portuguese publications, but most of the books are French editions (280). The rest are in English (19), Latin (2), Spanish (2) and German (1). 139 have illustrations, mostly in black, with few having color illustrations.
Since Medicine is the main theme, it is possible to highlight the areas of Medical Practice, Pathology, History of Medicine, Physiology, Histology, Microscopy, Nervous System, Anatomy and Surgery. However, there are also books on botany or zoology.
The state of preservation of most of the books is quite good and almost all works have their original binding, which not only protects the text, but also gives them value, due to their richness and detail.