The James Young Simpson Collection

A grant from the Wellcome Trust Research Resources in Medical History Scheme has enabled the College Library to catalogue rare pamphlets belonging to Sir James Young Simpson and make the details available through the Library's online catalogue.

Sir James Young Simpson (1811-1870) was born in Bathgate near Edinburgh. He was educated locally before entering Edinburgh University at the age of 14. He graduated M.D. in 1832. At the age of 28 he became professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh University – a post he held for over 30 years. Sir James was the first to use ether in obstetric practice in the UK on January 19 1847. He subsequently introduced chloroform on November 8 1847 describing its use in a widely acclaimed pamphlet entitled Account of a new anaesthetic agent.Within weeks of this publication chloroform had almost completely replaced ether. Simpson was attacked for using chloroform to relieve pain in childbirth and it was not until Dr John Snow (one of the authors with autographed works in the collection) administered chloroform to Queen Victoria for the birth of Prince Leopold that the use of anaesthetic drugs in this way became respectable. Simpson was recognised internationally and his contribution to medicine made him one of the most famous men of his time. The day of his funeral was declared a day of public mourning in Edinburgh and two thousand people followed his hearse through streets lined by over thirty thousand mourners.

'Lost' Simpson Diary Resurfaces in Second-Hand Shop

A lost diary, documenting the last days of Sir James Young Simpson (the pioneering and world famous Scottish physician who discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform) was discovered in 2006 in a second-hand bookshop in Edinburgh. The staff in the shop first offered to sell the diary to Ms. Marianne Smith (College Librarian at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh) however Marianne felt that Queen Street might be the most suitable home for the manuscript because of Simpson's presidential link and kindly alerted the RCPE to the discovery.

The diary, written by Sir James’ nephew (the Edinburgh lawyer Robert Simpson) had last been used in the preparation of a biography of Sir James published in 1873. Its whereabouts were then unknown until its recent discovery in a donation of books handed into the Shelter Bookshop in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, by an anonymous donor.

Extracts from the Diary are available here

Monographs

The Simpson Collection is one of the mainstays of the College’s Library. The monographs were electronically catalogued in 1999. After his death most of Simpson’s library went to his nephew Sir Alexander Russell Simpson who rather controversially succeeded him as Edinburgh University’s Professor of Midwifery. Sir Alexander, who died in 1916, also had a distinguished career and he bequeathed his library which included his Uncle’s collection to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The books contain Sir J.Y. Simpson’s book label and a bookplate indicating that Sir Alexander Russell Simpson had presented them to the College. Most of the books were published before 1870. A high proportion are obstetrical works, the remainder are on medical, archaeological or sociological subjects. Sir James possessed many of the well-known books on midwifery published in Britain and a very large selection of French and German books on the subject as well as books published in the United States of America. His collection contains many editions of classics, for example - Raynalde’s The Byrth of Mankynd, Guillemeau’s Happy Deliverie of Women and a first edition of Harvey’s de Mortu Cordis.

In addition to the books there are 22 manuscripts including Lectures on Obstetrics, Lectures on Diseases of Women, Lectures on Chloroform and Lectures on Anaesthesia.

Pamphlets

An important and underused adjunct to the Simpson monographs are the Simpson Pamphlets. Before this Research Resources Project no significant work has been done on the Simpson Pamphlets since 1916. They have been stored well but have never been catalogued. The majority of the pamphlets are contained in 136 (mainly octavo) cloth bound volumes.

Many of the pamphlets were sent to Simpson by the leading practitioners of the time and a considerable number of the title pages contain either the author’s inscriptions or Simpson’s manuscript annotations. Although nineteenth century anaesthesia, obstetrics and gynaecology feature strongly other subject areas are covered reflecting Sir James Young Simpson’s many interests. He collected pamphlets throughout his wide-ranging career and there are pamphlets on the prevalent infectious diseases of the period, statistics, medical reform and university administration. A significant number of the pamphlets are in French and German. Although the earliest pamphlets date from the 18th century – the majority are from the 19th century.

Examples from the Pamphlet Collection

Francis Brodie Imlach (1819-1891)
On the employment of chloroform in dental surgery, its mode of exhibition
Edinburgh, 1848

One of Edinburgh’s leading dentists and a friend and close neighbour (No. 48) of JYS.

On the 10th November 1847, only a few days after Simpson had first used chloroform in an obstetric case, Imlach performed the first tooth extraction using chloroform. (In JYS’s house)

John Snow (1813-1858)
On the inhalation of chloroform & ether London, 1848

Inscribed 'With the author's compliments'

This is of Snow’s famous pamphlet describing a modified design for his ether inhaler, the first to regulate the amount of vapour inhaled by the patient.

John Parke
Reasons for not using chloroform, except in the cases of extreme necessity
Liverpool, 1848

Parke believed that chloroform had no role in natural labour, and was shocked that a “woman was delivered of her child in a state of utter insensibility so evading bringing forth “in sorrow”.

Simpson heard that Parke intended to put into print his attack on the ‘morality’ of using chloroform and actually published his rebuttal before the publication of Parke’s pamphlet. There are 2 copies of this very rare pamphlet.

James Whitehead (1812-1885)
Agost Schoepf Merei
Suggestions for a clinical hospital for diseases of children Manchester, 1851

This rare pamphlet inscribed "To Dr Simpson with Dr Merei's kindest regards. Oct. 24th 1852. Manchester" outlined plans for a new hospital

Theodore Beza (1519-1605)
De peste quaestiones duae explicatae Geneva, 1579

Theodore Beza was Calvin’s successor at Geneva.

Geneva had been troubled with outbreaks of plague and Beza attempted to identify its source,as well as determining what the Christian's response should be when it affected his friends and family. Should he stay and minister to the infected ones, endangering himself and others - or flee, and protect himself?