An Eye to the Future

Damien Ihrig
Curator, The John Martin Rare Book Room

Greetings, Friends, and welcome to 2021! January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month, so we are highlighting Antoine Demour's groundbreaking work describing the disease. We are also excited to announce the lineup of speakers for the 2021 John Martin Rare Book Room Presents series. Check those out and a description of Demour's book below. I look forward to another year of sharing highlights from our resources and the stories, both historical and personal, behind them.

As always, stay safe and happy reading! (And don't forget to check your intraocular pressure!)

The John Martin Rare Book Room Presents

We are very excited to announce the speaker lineup for 2021. We have great topics and engaging speakers planned throughout the year. All talks are scheduled for 7:00 pm central time. Details to come for the talks later in the year.

February 22 - Correctional Measures: Exploring the medical and forensic world of Fort Madison Penitentiary. Liz Riordan, MA, Outreach & Engagement Librarian for the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections.

April 14 - Roots of Medicine: A Collaborative Medicinal Garden Project. In conjunction with the Iowa Bibliophiles from the UI Special Collections. Chris Childs, MS, Librarian, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences; Damien Ihrig, MA, MLIS, Curator, John Martin Rare Book Room; and Matt Regan, MA, MLIS, Librarian, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences.

Summer - Topic TBD. Sonja Mayrhofer, PhD, Lecturer in Rhetoric at the University of Iowa.

October - two separate talks covering the history of midwifery. Lastascia Coleman, ARNP, CNM, Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Kimberly Sprague, ARNP, CNM, MSN, Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Book of the Month

DEMOURS, ANTOINE PIERRE (1762-1836) Traité des maladies des yeux : avec des planches coloriées représentant ces maladies d’après nature, suivi de la description de l’œil humain / traduite du latin de S.T. Soemmerring [Treatise on eye diseases: with colored plates representing these diseases from nature, followed by the description of the human eye]   Printed by Crochard in 1818. First edition. 4 volumes. 21 cm tall (Volume 4 is 27 cm).

This four-volume work, one of the most important and elaborate books on the diseases of the eye published to that time, includes the first full description of glaucoma in which heightened intraocular pressure is recognized. The work is a compilation of hundreds of carefully annotated case histories obtained in the course of the author’s 20 years of experience and from his father’s nearly 50 years of practice. Credit for the observations on glaucoma belongs principally to the father, Pierre Demours, who was the superior clinical investigator, though it is quite properly shared with the son who excelled as a surgeon.

The final volume contains a French translation of the Latin edition of S.T. Soemmerring’s Abbildungen des menschlichen Auges [Illustrations of the Human Eye]. The 65 plates include remarkable specimens of early printed color illustrations.

Demours obtained a reputation more for his bold and skillful operations than for his scientific contributions. He became oculist to the Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X of France. Demours’ operation to transplant an artificial pupil created a great sensation, not only in France but all over Europe. The four volumes are modestly bound, with a dark blue paper pasted over paper boards. The first three volumes contain only text, and all the books show minor foxing (reddish-brown staining due to chemicals inherent to the paper and their interaction with the environment) throughout. Even with a simple binding, given its size and vibrant illustrations, the fourth volume definitely stands out from the others!

If you are interested in seeing this or other items mentioned in our newsletters, please contact Damien Ihrig at damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu to arrange a visit in person or over Zoom.