iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Join us Thursday 19 November for the Surgeons’ Hall Library Lecture given this year by journalist and BBC Scotland broadcaster Martin Geissler. museum.rcsed.ac.uk/whats-on/eve...

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Cat Irving @anatomicalcat.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Edinburgh folk - come and hear me talk about the story of the Great Windmill Street Anatomy School at Surgeons’ Hall this Thursday!

eventbrite.co.uk

Lunch Time Talk- The Great Windmill Street Anatomy School

Explore the story of "A Nursery for Teachers of Anatomy": The Great Windmill Street Anatomy School with Cat Irving

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Aaron Allen @mchapelproject.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Fantastic - an inky fingerprint in the minutes of the Edinburgh Incorporation of Surgeons in the phenomenal archival collections of @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social . Is it contemporary to the 1687 entry? Did it belong to their scribe, Mr Patrick Mowbray? #SurgeonsProject

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Surgeons' Hall Museum @surgeonshall.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

We are looking for a Provenance Researcher to improve what the Museum knows about the Human Remains Collection. Full details on the role and how to apply can be found here: cezanneondemand.intervieweb.it/rcsed/jobs/p... Applications close 14th of September.

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Surgeons' Hall Museum @surgeonshall.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Join us next week for a lunch time talk with historian Dr Bipasha Bhattacharyya on exclusion and discrimination in interwar medical education, via the correspondence of Dr John Orr, Dean, Extramural School of Medicine, Royal Colleges, Edinburgh (1924–1945). buff.ly/RAFPg2C

Black background with white text. It reads: Lunch Time Talk: Racism in Interwar Medical Archives. Thursday 9 July. 1.15pm. There is a photo of a series of photos, letters and other documents.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Happy birthday to us, we have been championing surgical excellent for 521 years! On 1 July 1505 the Surgeons and Barbers of Edinburgh were formally incorporated as a craft guild of the city of #Edinburgh. In 1778 our amended charter brought The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh into being. 🎂🎉

A grainy black and white photograph of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh on Nicolson Street, Edinburgh.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

The Scottish Horse Mounted Field Ambulance football team, 1915

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Surgeons' Hall Museum @surgeonshall.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

In our latest episode of Beyond the Knife, we are joined by Dr Aaron Allan who explores the early formation of the Incorporation of Barber Surgeons in Edinburgh. You can listen to Beyond the Knife wherever you get your podcasts! shows.acast.com/beyond-the-k...

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

📢Find out about the history of the Library of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh at next Tuesday's lunchtime talk at 1.15 pm @surgeonshall.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lunch-time...

museum.rcsed.ac.uk

Lunch Time Talk: A Legacy in Pages- The History of the RCSEd Library - Surgeons' Hall Museums, Edinburgh

Upcoming Events for Surgeons' Hall Museums

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

It's #DentistDay! This is Lilian Murray who became the first female dentist to qualify in the UK. She initially tried to enrol at the London Dental School but was refused entry to the building in case she distracted male students & was interviewed on the pavement instead! #InternationalWomensDay

Illustration of Lilian Murray (later Lilian Lindsay) outside the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh waving her Diploma above her head. There are books at her feet. (Image courtesy of British Dental Association)

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

📢 And as a reminder, tomorrow is the closing date for our joint 'Writer in Residence' vacancy with the University of St. Andrews. Come use our archives! Link here (and a picture of our reading room to tempt you) www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

A long study table with lamps surrounded by bookcases, windows and relaxation chairs.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

It's #WorldBookDay so please enjoy some 17th century surgical instruments from ‘Mellificium chirurgiæ: or, the Marrow of Chirurgery' by James Cooke. This was first published in 1648, and became the standard surgical text of the late 1600s #earlymodernsurgery

A book with a fold-out opened depicting surgical instruments.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

📢In partnership with St Andrews University, we're looking for a 'Joseph Bell Writer in Residence at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh' to pursue a writing project drawing on our archives. Stipend of up to £15,000. Closing date 6 March 2026. www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk

Joseph Bell Writer in Residence at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the School of English, University of St Andrews

Joseph Bell Writer in Residence at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the School of English, University of St Andrews, Grade/Salary Range: Salary: The residency will offer a stipend and/or...

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Kitty @kittyfisher.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Aaaagh - if I didn’t have a full-time job I’d absolutely apply for this 😭 good luck to everyone who does apply!

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Vicky MacKenzie @vickymackenzie.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

This sounds absolutely amazing!

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Alison @finger-post.blog · 22/02/2026

Wonderful opportunity for someone to do great work in two of the best and loveliest archives in the world:

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

The residency is open to writers or researchers in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, screenplay, literary and/or historical scholarship, life-writing and medical humanities. Interviews to be held online 20th March.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk

Joseph Bell Writer in Residence at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the School of English, University of St Andrews

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Anatomical illustration of the heart with flaps raised to expose the left and right ventricles, in René Descartes ‘De Homine’. Published posthumously in 1662 due to fear of the Roman Inquisition, it is believed to be the first European textbook on physiology

Flap anatomy illustration of the heart and lungs from a 17th century text by René Descartes, revealing pealed back layers to expose the ventricles of the heart.

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RCPSG Heritage @rcpsgheritage.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

It's #NationalHedgehogDay 🦔 and we're just prickling with excitement 😁 so to celebrate here's a rather adorable #hedgehog from Historiae Animalium (c.1602) by Conrad Gesner.

An open book showing a woodcut illustration of a hedgehog

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Surgeons' Hall Museum @surgeonshall.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Our Blood and Guts walking tours will return on the 24th of January! Hear little known accounts of iconic writers, chloroform tea parties, pioneering women, grave robbing and of course Burke and Hare. Tours run every Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blood-and-...

Dark blue background with a drawing of a skull to the left of the image. To the right of the image is white text that reads: Blood and Guts: The Twists and Turns of Edinburgh's Medical History Walking Tour

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

We will be closed for the festive break and re-open Monday 5 January 2026. We wish you all a very happy and peaceful holiday!

View of a Christmas tree in front of stairs and a stained glass window, with a bust and portrait in the background.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

When your surgeon's absolutely buzzing to be in a Santa suit. Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, 1913

A group of adult and child patients, nurses and Santa in a hospital ward. The patients are in beds and the nurses and Santa are standing behind a cot which has a child sitting up. Most people are smiling for the camera apart from Santa who looks quite glum.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

If anyone needs help wrapping Christmas presents to make them look beautiful our College Archivist is available. Don't all rush at once.

A very badly wrapped present with brown paper, the dregs of a roll of cotton ribbon and gaffer tape.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Medical students outside the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 1912.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

A plate from “Engravings, Explaining the Anatomy of the Bones, Muscles, and Joints” by Scottish surgeon-anatomist John Bell FRCSEd, published in 1794. Bell illustrated his own works based on dissections he carried out in his Edinburgh anatomy school.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

We haven't been round these parts much recently so dropping in to say hello and please enjoy these images of Baillière’s Synthetic Anatomy. Published in the 1920s & a descendent of the earlier paper anatomical flap books, each section uses glassine transparent overlays. Have a good weekend!

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Aaron Allen @mchapelproject.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

#EdinburghSurgeonsProject - August 1668 - Five dollars (Scots) given to the widow ('relict') of Hector Mclie, surgeon, to pay for his funeral expenses, a traditional function of craft incorporations. #corporatism #palaeography

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Surgeons' Hall Museum @surgeonshall.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

As knowledge of asepsis increased, the design of instruments changed to allow easy sterilisation. metal boxes that could be cleaned properly also replaced the wooden, velvet lined boxes of the 19th century. Surgeons still sterilised and re-used needles between procedures.

A metal syringe in a metal case with rounded edges.

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Aaron Allen @mchapelproject.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

One of my projects is a transcription of the late 17th c. minute book of the Edinburgh Incorporation of Surgeons for the @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social. Masters were supposed to pay a booking fee to the Inc. for servants and apprentices, but some failed to do so, bringing a hefty £3 fine.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

We had a great time welcoming the students to the College Library and @surgeonshall.bsky.social today. A truly inspiring group of women.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

📣JOB ALERT 📣 The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has a vacancy for a Project Records Assistant, which will give experience of both Archives & Records Management. Closing date 5 pm on 22 Aug. Come join the Heritage team! cezanneondemand.intervieweb.it/rcsed/jobs/p...

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

For South Asian Heritage Month see our guest blog by Dr Theeba Krishnamoorty on the pioneering doctor and activist Dr Nallamma Williams, a prominent voice in Sri Lanka’s early suffrage movement rcsedlibraryandarchive.wordpress.com/2025/07/18/d... #SouthAsianHeritageMonth #RootsToRoutes

Black and white photograph of Dr Nallamma seated in robes handling a register.

Front cover of Madras Medical College Clinical Manual.

Front page of Nammalla's Triple Qualification course schedule, a 4-page document outlining the candidate's biographical information, lectures and clinical classes taken, and lecturer and location of class.

Group photograph of doctors and Nurses of the McLeod Hospital.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

An operation in progress, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, late 19th century.

Black and white photograph of an operating theatre with a surgeon, assistant and team of nurses looking over a patient on the table. The men are wearing aprons and there is an empty lecture theatre behind them.

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Surgeons' Hall Museum @surgeonshall.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Our Collections Coordinator, Danielle Dray, explores the remarkable life of Professor Dorothy Ann Geddes, who made history as the first woman to hold a professorship in dentistry in the United Kingdom. surgeonshallmuseums.wordpress.com/2025/07/18/p...

surgeonshallmuseums.wordpress.com

Professor Dorothy Ann Geddes

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RCPSG Heritage @rcpsgheritage.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Today marks the start of South Asian Heritage Month. To celebrate we have a wonderful new blog post by Dr Theeba Krishnamoorty, discussing the very 1st South Asian women to qualify to practice medicine heritageblog.rcpsg.ac.uk/2025/07/18/a... #SouthAsianHeritageMonth #RootsToRoutes #womeninmedicine

A Glasgow tenement door and an oil painting of its former resident, Dr Jamini Sen, the first female fellow of our College

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

#OTD 1505 the Surgeons and Barbers of Edinburgh united and were formally incorporated as a craft guild by the Town Council. Happy birthday to us, we’re 520 years old!

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The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh @rcsed.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Dr Clare McNaught has been elected as the new President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Dr McNaught will become the College's first ever female President in the College's 520-year history, and will succeed Professor Rowan Parks. Read more: bit.ly/44kf55F

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Surgeons' Hall Museum @surgeonshall.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

The latest episode of Beyond the Knife has dropped! In this episode, Steven Kerr, the Librarian @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social, discusses the extraordinary story behind one of histories most enduring medical texts -Gray's Anatomy. You can find Beyond the Knife wherever you get your podcasts!

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

It's #InsectWeek and also the @artukdotorg.bsky.social #OnlineArtExchange theme is wildlife & the environment. Insects feed on paper so library & archive collections are stored under strict environmental controls. Here's some illustrations of wildlife, who may also have dined on their host!

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

This is our 1st edition of William Harvey’s groundbreaking ‘Exercitatio Anatomica De Motu Cordis…’, published in 1628, which is often cited as the most important book in the history of medicine. Harvey was the first to recognize the full circulation of the blood in the human body #NationalBloodWeek

A book resting on a cushion opened at a page showing illustration of an experiment on two ligated arms to show that blood in the veins flows towards the heart rather than away from it.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

This art & anatomy lecture notebook belonged to Edinburgh surgeon Patrick Heron Watson, c.1856. The only @rcsed.bsky.social Fellow to have been President twice, some argue he inspired his pupil Arthur Conan Doyle's character 'Dr Watson'. Digitised here: archiveandlibrary.rcsed.ac.uk/special-coll...?

Page from a lecture notebook with handwriting and a colour labelled illustration identifying the muscles of the buttocks, thigh and lower leg.

Lecture notebook lying open at pages of handwriting and illustrations of the skull and bones of the shoulder to elbow.

Lecture notebook open at pages with handwriting and illustrations of the muscles of the leg and full body from behind. There is a snake weight holding the pages in place.

Lecture notebook open at a page with handwriting and illustrations of the forearm bones, and some skeletons fencing.

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RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Anaesthesia pioneer James Young Simpson was born #OTD 1811. We love this student's sketch of Simpson lecturing as Professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh University in the 1850s.

A pencil sketch of James Young Simpson lecturing.

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