RCP museum

Adopt a treasure from the RCP collections

Do you want to help preserve & expand the RCP Museum’s collection? Find out more about our ‘Adopt a Treasure’ scheme & how to contribute to conservation or commissioning of new artworks 👉 www.rcp.ac.uk/support-us/p...

@rcphysicians.bsky.social

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An oil portrait of Dr Ledingham in a black dress with a red shawl. The portrait is in a gold frame.

We are delighted to have had a portrait of Dr Ledingham, as well as the funds necessary for conservation, recently donated to the museum! Thank you to our supporters who made this possible - find out more 👉 www.rcp.ac.uk/support-us/p...

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Our collection still reflects the centuries in which women were not permitted to practice medicine, but we are working to improve representation of women in the collections & inspire future generations with their stories.

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Graphic for showing a green and yellow background with a spotlight being directed onto the images of 3 women. The title reads 'Emerging Women Leaders programme'.

When the RCP was founded in 1518, women were prohibited from medical education & practicing medicine. Recent statistics show women make up 50% of the medical workforce & the RCP runs the Emerging Women Leaders Programme to help address the under-representation of women leadership roles.

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During WWII Dr Ledingham successfully ran her husband’s surgery while continuing her own exacting hospital work as a consultant. Later she was an examiner for the RCP & University of London, & an elected Fellow of the RCP in 1947, 13 years after the first female fellow was elected.

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A black and white photo of Dr Una Ledingham.

This #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience we are spotlighting Dr Una Christina Ledingham, a 20th century physician who became the leading authority on pregnancy in diabetic women, helping to reduce the mortality rate in mothers & infants.
👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/inspiring-ph...

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Printed portrait of physician Cromwell Mortimer (1693 - 1752). He is pictured sitting at his desk head on hand, papers are under his elbow and books on the floor. An owl is perched on the desk holding an inkstand in its beak. Behind him stands Folly dressed as a fool reaching out to place a peacock feather on the physician's head. The print is titled: 'Here Folly, Ignorance, and Pride, Combine To prove Him, of the true Duncean line.'

Also a bit late to the #MuseumSuperbOwl party but who doesn't want an owl study buddy?

In this 18th C satirical print physician Cromwell Mortimer is depicted as not 'as learned as he might wish'. Pictured with Folly behind him & a lovely owl acting as his inkstand.

@barnsleymuseums.bsky.social

Loving this theme! Hope we are not too late to join in @barnsleymuseums.bsky.social.

Our #MuseumSuperBowl offer is this pewter mid-18th century bleeding bowl.

Inside are graduated lines for the physician to measure just how much blood was being taken from the patient.

@rcphysicians.bsky.social

https://history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/ghost-library

Archimedes, Opera non nulla (Venice, 1558). Left: signature of John Dee. Right: annotations by the Marquis of Dorchester.

Did you know about the ghost in the Dorchester Library?
Doctoral candidate & guest blogger, Constance Hardesty, has researched & curated a new display for the @rcphysicians.bsky.social Treasures Room all about the missing book, read it 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/ghost-l...

#histmed

2 for 1 offer now open on tickets for our half-term activities!
Book 👉 tales_from_the_doctors_library.eventbrite.co.uk

Join professional London storyteller Vanessa Woolf @londondreamtime.bsky.social for an interactive storytime with music, props & even smells! Plus get creative with paper crafts!

An image of Eugene Sandow crouched down while punching out with his right arm. He has a moustache, is dressed only in boots and pants, and is standing on a leopard skin rug.

A group of visitors on the exhibition gallery.

Join us next Thurs 5 Feb for an evening exploring the long, rich & inspiring history of LGBTQ+ lives through fascinating & potentially challenging items in the RCP collections.

Book free now 👉https://RCP_Museum_LGBTplus_History_Month.eventbrite.co.uk

#LGBTplusHM #LGBTQIA #ScienceAndInnovation

Beautiful handwritten letter. The writing fills the full page and discusses very remedies to try for someone who is living with breast cancer. The letter is dated August 7th 1735

For #NationalHandwritingDay here's proof that doctors don't have terrible handwriting! This beautifully handwritten letter (c.1735) diagnoses a patient with breast cancer, a “disorder rarely hitherto known to yield to any milder remedy than the knife”.

Black and white pencil drawing of a cuttlefish, possibly partially dissected, with its tentacles splayed out. Annotation reads 'Sepia - April 20th 1693'

Two colour drawings of dissected lizards, pinned on their backs with internal organs on display. Both have their legs and tails splayed out and one has its long tongue splayed out also.

Three colour drawings showing parts of dissected snake, including one of the head posed, as if in life, with the mouth open showing the teeth and protruding tongue

Colour drawing of a warthog in profile view, as if in life, and the same view of a warthog skeleton

Happy belated Birthday to Edward Tyson born #OTD (yesterday!) 1651!
These drawings are from Tyson's scrapbook on #comparativeanatomy. Tyson was one of the first to propose a continuity of traits between humans & other primates, his writings informing future research into human evolution.

#histmed

A tour group gathered round a guide in the RCP.

An image of Eugene Sandow crouched down while punching out with his right arm. He has a moustache, is dressed only in boots and pants, and is standing on a leopard skin rug.

A set of three images. On the left is a woman (Dr Dossabai Patell) in a white shirt surrounded by men in suits. In the centre is the portrait of Dr Dorothy Hare dressed in her red graduation robes and black hat. On the right is the title page of a handwritten book reading 'The Lady Sedley, her Receipt book'

The storyteller holds out her ukulele for a child to drum on as other children watch.

Events to look out for over the next few months at the RCP museum!

⭐4 Feb & 4 Mar – taster tour
⭐5 Feb – Museum Late: LGBT+ History Month special
⭐17 Feb – Tales from the doctors library: family storytime & crafts
⭐4 Mar – Museum Late: women’s history month

Book now 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/events

Exhibition graphic showing colourful pages from the books in the background and the following text: A body of knowledge Discover 500 years of book collecting at the RCP 10 September 2025 - 23 July 2026 Exhibition | Free entry

Visit the exhibition to discover more about the wide range of topics in our library, the disasters its survived (including plague, theft, fire & bombs!) & much more. You can visit free during our opening hours & at special Late openings 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/visit-us
#BodyOfKnowledge #histmed

Three men closely examine the 16th C books on display in the Dorchester Library.

Exhibition 'A body of knowledge' uses 61 of our most fascinating books to explore 500 years of book collecting @rcphysicians.bsky.social. But there are 50,000 on our shelves!
Today’s blog👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/archite... explores 5 16th C masterpieces on architecture, displayed at #OpenHouse2025.

A portrait of Grace Pierrepont handing on a wooden wall with bookshelves either side. The books on the shelves are wrapped in blue paper as part o an artwork called 'Making Visible'

For artwork ‘Making Visible’, in exhibition ‘A body of knowledge’, Harvey’s portrait has been temporarily replaced by one of Grace Pierrepont. Grace restarted the library collection after the Great Fire. Find out about her, Harvey & the books: history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/...
#BodyOfKnowledge
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A close up of William Harvey's face painted by an unknown artist. He is shown as a white man with grey hair curling onto his shoulders, thinning on top, a small moustache and a beard on his chin. He is wearing a white collared shirt under a black robe.

An image of the Dorchester Library showing shelves of books and the portrait of William Harvey handing in the centre.

A fellow of the RCP, Harvey was famous for his experiments & publication that demonstrated the circulation of blood. He was also an early donor to the physicians’ library giving books & money for the 1st librarian. Because of this his portrait usually hangs in the RCP's Dorchester Library.

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Two art handlers unscrew metal catches on the back of the painting frame.

Two art handlers carefully place the unframed painting of William Harvey onto foam blocks.

Two art handlers carefully lift the empty decorative golden frame.

The portrait of William Harvey outside it's frame supported on foam blocks.

Today we got to see this painting of physician William Harvey up close as it was removed from its frame. The frame is off for a conservation treatment.
Painted by an unknown artist in 1650 it is one of the few RCP Museum objects to have survived the Great Fire of London.

#behindthescenes

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Happy New Year!! 🥳

We are enjoying the winter sun & looking forward to 2026, pop by for a visit to see:
⭐Exhibition 'A body of knowledge' until 23 July
⭐Historic medical tools of the trade
⭐Artwork & silverware
⭐Stunning Grade I listed architecture

Plan your visit now history.rcp.ac.uk/visit-us

We hope you all have a wonderful Festive Season whether celebrating Hannukah, Christmas or just generally enjoying this time 'to feast and be merry'! 🍽️😋🎄

We will sign off socials for now and see you all in 2026 🥳

@rcphysicians.bsky.social

This illuminated roundel shows a Janus-faced character drinking from a goblet and a horn, with a table set out with rich dishes and pies.

The gorgeous 13th C Wilton Psalter starts with a calendar of annual events. As well as listing Christian saints' days & other religious festivals, each month is illustrated with its sign of the Zodiac & a 'labour of the month'.

Here is December's 'labour' - to feast & be merry!

2025 has been a busy year, we:
⭐ran 34 events & 79 tours for over 2,600 visitors
⭐replied to over 600 enquiries
⭐set 85 traps for pests
⭐drank about 1300 cups of tea!

Explore all our fun facts in our 'Museum Wrapped' blog 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/2025-rc...

@rcphysicians.bsky.social

A large decorated Christmas tree in the RCP central hall.

🎄Festive closures 🎄

The RCP Museum will be closed on the following dates 👇
19th December, Christmas Eve (24th), Christmas Day (25th), Boxing Day (26th), New Year's Eve (31st) 2025 and New Year's Day (1st) 2026.

Plan you visit 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/visit-us

The open pages of showing Arabic text and annotations in Greek, Latin and Arabic. The book is a copy of Al-qanun fi'l-tibb [The canon of medicine] byIbn Sīnā, known as Avicenna, published Rome, 1593

Brown's annotations are in Arabic, Greek & Latin. He traces the origins & meanings of Arabic terms, compares the text with two different Latin translations, & confronts textual errors & inconsistencies. On these pages, Browne is grappling with the book’s classification and description of spiders!

An open book with Arabic printed text inside a display case alongside several other books. The text is: Al-qanun fi'l-tibb [The canon of medicine] byIbn Sīnā, known as Avicenna, published Rome, 1593

This copy displayed in exhibition 'A body of knowledge' once belonged to physician Lancelot Brown, father-in-law of @rcphysicians.bsky.social fellow William Harvey. Harvey was famous for demonstrating how blood circulates. Brown was one of the few to read the original Arabic.
#BodyOfKnowledge

An open book with Arabic printed text inside a display case. The text is: Al-qanun fi'l-tibb [The canon of medicine] byIbn Sīnā, known as Avicenna, published Rome, 1593

Open pages of a printed book in Arabic. The book is: Al-qanun fi'l-tibb [The canon of medicine] by Ibn Sīnā, known as Avicenna, published Rome, 1593

To celebrate #ArabicLanguageDay here is one of the first books printed in Arabic in Europe - a 1593 copy of 'Al-qanun fi'l-tibb' [The canon of medicine] by 10th–11th C Muslim writer Ibn Sīnā, known as Avicenna. It was a key text for medical students, but most Europeans would have read a translation.

Thank you to everyone who joined the RCP Garden & Museum teams for a lovely evening of tea tasting & making last night!
A beautiful final event of 2025 with a lovely group. 🍵😋

We look forward to sharing more lovely events with you all in 2026!

@rcphysicians.bsky.social #histmed #RCPHealingRecipes

Exhibition graphic with a selection of marbled papers showing the title: A body of knowledge Discover 500 years of book collecting at the Royal College of Physicians 10 September 2025 - 23 July 2026 Exhibition | Free entry

Look out for more creative workshops inspired by the books and manuscripts in exhibition 'A body of knowledge' coming next year.

#BodyofKnowledge #histmed

👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/...

Excellent recent workshop with artist Sarah Davis! Inspired by the Wilton Psalter we recreated beautiful letters from the 13th C manuscript learning all about medieval materials & techniques. Thanks to all who joined.
About artist: www.sarahgdavis.co.uk

@rcphysicians.bsky.social #BodyOfKnowledge