Reading Abbott
Until 30 November 2024
Osler LIbrary -听 3655 Sir William Osler
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About Reading Abbott
Maude Abbott loved to read. This exhibition explores both what she read and ways we can听read听her life story. While many publications on the famous doctor have focused on the barriers she faced in a male-dominated profession, this exhibition places Abbott among her favourite authors, texts, and locations. At its heart are Abbott鈥檚 five diaries. These precious journals record her daily activities, meetings, travels, meals, health, friends, books, and even her hair appointments.
鈥淩eading Abbott鈥� showcases a wide array of primary sources on Abbott鈥檚 life. The exhibit is arranged under four thematic headings, exploring her relationships (鈥�Osler + Abbott鈥�), mobility (鈥�Abbott on the Move鈥�), reading (鈥�Abbott reads鈥�), and writing (鈥�Abbott writes鈥�).听Curated by architectural historian Annmarie Adams, 鈥淩eading Abbott鈥� invites feminist and spatial readings of Abbott's legacy.
鈥淩eading Abbott鈥� is sponsored by the Department of Social Studies of Medicine, Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
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鈥� ...that flower of our calling鈥攖he cultivated general practitioner.
May this be the destiny of a large majority of you! You cannot reach any better position in a community; the family doctor is the man behind the gun, who does our effective work.
That his life is hard and exacting; that he is underpaid and overworked; that he has but little time for study and less for recreation鈥攖hese are the blows that may give finer temper
to his steel, and bring out the nobler elements in his character.鈥�
William Osler, 鈥淭he Student Life,鈥� 1905, p. 25
Osler鈥檚 words, some to the graduating medical school class of 平特五不中 and included in a 1905 essay titled 鈥淭he Student Life鈥�, exemplify the respect he had for country-based family physicians. This exhibit shows some of the diagnostic and therapeutic instruments and materia medica from the Maude Abbott Medical Museum that such practitioners might have used during the early to mid-20th century. A selection of the many books contained in the Osler Library that describe their medical and personal experiences during this time is also displayed.
Ying Chen, Rick Fraser and Mary Hague-Yearl