Join us for a great event where you will meet other ARA members and see the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow collections.

What: Come get to know other ARA members, hear an update from the heritage team at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and take a look behind the scenes at their collections and exhibition. The RCPSG is housed in a beautiful historic building on St. Vincent Street in Glasgow, so ARA Scotland are thrilled to have them as our first host of this series.

This event offers members a chance to get together and interact with other ARA members in a more casual environment. It’s the first in a series of events intended to connect members with each other, as well as an opportunity to hear from an archive service about what they’ve been working on lately and get a behind-the-scenes look into their exhibition and/or repository.

When: Thursday 24th September from 2:00-4:30.

Where: Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow, 232-242 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5RJ

Schedule:

2:00 - 2:15 - arrival

2:15 - 2:30 - introduction from ARA Scotland officer

2:30 – 3:00 – An update from the RCPSG on recent projects

3:00 - 3:45 – repository/exhibition tour

3:45 - 4:30 - time for coffee/tea/biscuits and socialising/networking

Please see below for details about the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow dates back to 1599, founded by a Royal Charter granted by James VI and I to restrict and control medical practice across the west of Scotland to properly qualified practitioners. We are the only combined royal medical college in the UK and Ireland and now have 5 faculties (Physicians, Surgeons, Dentists, Podiatrists and Travel Medics) We have over 15,000 members from across the globe.

We are an Archive, Library and Accredited Museum. Our heritage collections encompass archives, historic medical instruments, books and artwork. Our Library dates to 1698, with over 30,000–40,000 volumes ranging from the 15th to the 21st century. We have a 1543 edition of De Humani Corporis Fabrica by Andrea Vesalius, a foundational text on anatomy as well as two first edition volumes of Audubon’s "Birds of America": One of our rare double elephant folio sets purchased in 1838 is always on display in the Library. Our new exhibition, ‘The Birds of America by John James Audubon: A World Treasure at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow’ https://heritage.rcpsg.ac.uk/exhibits/show/audubon-birdsofamerica opened in May. We are also launching a new exhibition:’ Dear Green Places: Nature and our Health’, featuring some of our historic herbals, in September.

Our archives date from the foundation of the College to the present day. They include Institutional Records. We have continuous records from 1602, including minute books, examination registers, and vaccination registers. There are 131 collections covering:

Records of medical and surgical groups and societies, from Glasgow and the west of Scotland

Papers of physicians and surgeons, including case books, manuscripts, letters and photographs

And the papers include those of the greatest minds in medicine – such as Joseph Lister, William Macewen, and Nobel Prize winner Ronald Ross

Our Vaccination Registers. In 1801 the College opened one of the first vaccine centres in the UK, The Registers show that in the first five years of the College’s vaccination programme, 10,000 people (mainly children) had been vaccinated. The College was the only professional medical body to deliver a public vaccination programme

Access

Lift access is available throughout the building

Location

We are based in the city centre, accessible by bus and train connections. There are car parks nearby and disabled car parking spaces outside the College.

Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow, 232-242 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5RJ

T: +44 (0)141 221 6072

https://heritage.rcpsg.ac.uk

Instagram: rcpsgheritage1599 | Bluesky: @rcpsgheritage.bsky.social |

Facebook: facebook.com/rcpsgheritage

Description supplied by the event organiser.