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Preserve the History of American Psychiatry

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The American Psychiatric Association is the oldest medical association in the U.S., and our Library and Archives represents over 175 years' worth of accumulated knowledge from the association, plus psychiatric records dating back to the 1600s. When you choose to support the APA Foundation's Library and Archives, you affirm your role as an advocate for psychiatric education. Join us today in our efforts to maintain over 2,000 rare books and resources on behalf of future psychiatric leaders and their patients. 

Books and Artifacts Donations

The mission of the Melvin Sabshin, M.D. Library & Archives is to preserve those historically valuable materials which document the origins, development, activities and achievements of the American Psychiatric Association, psychiatry and the key figures that have shaped the field.

We welcome donations of rare books and artifacts related to the history of psychiatry and APA. Over the years, the library has been the recipient of sizable books and artifacts donations which has sustained its growth over the years. Our focus is to continue to collect unique books and artifacts that we can add to our existing collection.

We are a non-circulating library, therefore cannot accept everything due to the nature of our space, so we are asking prospective donors not to send physical item(s), but rather send gift offers to [email protected] with a list of items they wish to donate. Additionally, the below wish list of items has been created to give donors a sense of the types of materials we are seeking.

Wish List

William M. Awl, M.D. (1799-1876)

First superintendent of State Hospital at Columbus, Ohio from 1838 to 1851.

  • Ohio Lunatic Asylum (Columbus, Ohio), Parsons, S., Awl, W. M., McCracken, S. F., Gardiner, J. B., & Ohio. (1835). Report of the directors of the Lunatic Asylum of Ohio, to the thirty-fourth General Assembly: Thursday, December 10, 1835. Columbus [Ohio: James B. Gardiner, printer to the state.
  • Hoge, J., Swayne, N. H., Awl, W. M., & Gardiner, J. B. (1836). Report of the trustees appointed to collect information relative the education of the blind. Columbus, Ohio: James B. Gardiner
  • Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind., Awl, W. M., Swayne, N. H., Hoge, J., & Ohio. (1837). Report of the trustees of the Institution for the instruction of the blind to the thirty-sixth General Assembly. Columbus, Ohio?: s.n.
  • Ohio Lunatic Asylum (Columbus, Ohio), Awl, W. M., Medary, S., & Ohio. (1840). Second annual report of the directors and superintendent of the Ohio Lunatic Asylum, to the thirty-ninth General Assembly: Presented December 20, 1840. Columbus [Ohio: Samuel Medary, printer to the state.
  • Columbus, O., & Awl, W. M. (1842). Circular of the superintendent of the Ohio lunatic asylum. Columbus: Wright and Legg, printers.
  • Ohio Lunatic Asylum (Columbus, Ohio), Awl, W. M., Ohio., & C. Scott & Co.,. (1846). Seventh annual report of the directors and superintendent of the Ohio Lunatic Asylum, to the forty-fourth General Assembly, for the year 1845. Columbus [Ohio: C. Scott and Co., printers
  • Ohio Lunatic Asylum (Columbus, Ohio), Awl, W. M., Scott, C., & Ohio. (1846). Eighth annual report of the directors and superintendent of the Ohio Lunatic Asylum, to the forty-fifth General Assembly, for the year 1846. Columbus [Ohio: C. Scott's Steam Press.
  • Ohio Lunatic Asylum (Columbus, Ohio), Awl, W. M., Medary, S., Ohio., & Ohio. (1850). Eleventh annual report of the directors and superintendent of the Ohio Lunatic Asylum, to the forty-eighth General Assembly of the state of Ohio: For the year 1849. : (Ordered to be printed by the House.). Columbus [Ohio: S. Medary, printer.
  • Moore, W. E., & Awl, W. M. (1876). History of the Presbytery of Columbus from 1823 to 1876. Columbus, Ohio: Gazette Steam Print. House.

Luther V. Bell, M.D. (1806-1862)

Superintendent of the McLean Asylum at Somerville, Massachusetts from 1837-1856 and 1857-1858.

  • Bell, Luther V. An Attempt to Investigate Some Obscure and Undecided Doctrines in Relation to Small-pox, Varioloid and Vaccination. Boston: Marsh, Capen, and Lyon, 1836.
  • Bell, Luther V. A dissertation on the Boylston prize-question for 1835: What diet can be selected which will ensure the greatest probable health and strength to the laborer in the climate of New England? --quantity and quality, and the time and manner of taking it, to be considered. Boston: D. Clapp Jr., 1836.
  • Bell, Luther V. Report made to the Legislature of New Hampshire on the Subject of the Insane: June session, 1836. Concord, NH: C. Barton, printer, 1836.
  • Bell, Luther V., and Dorothea L. Dix. The Practical Methods of Ventilating Buildings: Being the Annual Address before the Massachusetts Medical Society, May 31, 1848: with an Appendix on Heating by Steam and Hot Water. Boston: Damrell & Moore, 1848.
  • Holmes, Oliver Wendell, and Luther V. Bell. Dissertations on the question How far are the external means of exploring the condition of the internal organs to be considered useful and important in medical practice? Boston: Printed by Perkins & Marvin, 1836.

Amariah Brigham, M.D. (1798-1849)

First superintendent of the New York State Lunatic Asylum (later called Utica State Hospital) from 1842 to 1849.

  • Brigham, A. (1832). A treatise on epidemic cholera: including an historical account of its origin and progress, to the present period. Comp. from the most authentic sources. Hartford: H. and F. J. Huntington.
  • Brigham, A. (1833). Remarks on the influence of mental cultivation and mental excitement upon health. 2d ed. Boston: Marsh, Capen & Lyon.
  • Brigham, A. (1848). Observaciones sobre la influencia de la cultura del entendimiento y de la excitación mental en la salud. Valladolid: Imprenta de José María Lezcano y Roldán.
  • Stone, W. L. 1792-1844. (1837). Letter to Doctor A. Brigham, on animal magnetism: being an account of a remarkable interview between the author and Miss Loraina Brackett while in a state of somnambulism. New York: George Dearborn & Co.

John S. Butler, M.D. (1803-1890)

First superintendent of the Boston Lunatic Hospital from 1839-1842 and also of the Hartford Retreat, Connecticut.

  • Connecticut., & Butler, J. S. (1845). List of insane poor persons who have received aid from the state during the past year.
  • Stearns, H. P., Cone, W. R., Russell, G. W., Butler, J. S., & Hartford Medical Society. (1876). Semi-centennial anniversary of the Retreat for the Insane, at Hartford, Conn., January 7th, 1873: Remarks by William R. Cone, and historical address by Dr. Gurdon W. Russell; together with extracts from the yearly report of 1870, by Dr. John S. Butler, superintendent during nearly thirty years. Hartford, Conn: The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., Printers.
  • Butler, J. S., & Connecticut. (1879). State preventive medicine: The first annual address to the State Board of Health of Connecticut. Hartford, Conn: Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard C.
  • Butler, J. S. (1887). The curability of insanity and the individualized treatment of the insane. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
  • Butler, J. S. (1879). State Preventive Medicine ... Address, etc. Case & Co: Hartford.
  • Butler, J. Simpkins. (1887). The individualized treatment of the insane. [S.l.: s.n..]

Pliny Earle, M.D. (1809–1892)

Resident physician of the asylum for the insane (now known as Friends Hospital) at Frankford, Pennsylvania from 1840-1842.

  • Earle, P. (1840). A Visit to Thirteen Asylums for the Insane in Europe. 
  • Earle, P. (1854). An Examination of the Practice of Bloodletting in Mental Disorders, New York

John M. Galt, M.D. (1819-1862)

Superintendent at the Eastern Lunatic Asylum in Williamsburg, Virginia from 1841-1862.

  • Galt, J. M. (1850). Essays on asylums for persons of unsound mind. Richmond [Va.: H.K. Ellyson's power Press.
  • Galt, J. M. 1819-1862. (1852). Political essays. [n. p..]
  • Galt, J. M. (1854). Insanity in Italy. Utica [N.Y.: Printed at the New York State Lunatic Asylum.
  • Galt, J. M. (1857). A letter touching the management of the Eastern Lunatic Asylum, Williamsburg, Virginia. Williamsburg? Va.: Ewing, Printer.
  • Galt, J. M. (1859). A lecture on idiocy. Richmond, Va: Enquirer Book and Job Office.
  • Eastern State Hospital (Va.), & Galt, J. M. (1861). Reports of the Physician and Superintendent of the Eastern Lunatic Asylum, for the years 1855-7, 1857-9, 1859-61. Richmond: Enquirer Book and Job Press, Tyler, Wise, Allegre & Smith.
  • (1862). In memoriam, died in Williamsburg, Va., May 18th, 1862 ... John M. Galt. [Richmond?: s.n.
  • Eastern Lunatic Asylum (Va.). (1852). Report of the Eastern Lunatic Asylum: In the city of Williamsburg, Virginia. 1851. Richmond: Printed by Ritchies & Dunnavant.
  • Eastern Lunatic Asylum (Va.). (1873). Report of the Eastern Lunatic Asylum of Virginia: For the year ending September 30th, 1873, together with the proceedings at the centennial celebration of the institution. Richmond: R.F. Walker, Supt. Public Printing.

Thomas S. Kirkbride, M.D. (1809-1883)

Superintendent of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane from 1840 to 1883.

  • Kirkbride, T. S. (1850). Notice of some experiments in heating & ventilating hospitals and other buildings: By steam and hot water with remarks. Philadelphia: Printed by T.K. and P.G. Collins.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane., & Kirkbride, T. S. (1843). Report ... for the year 1842. Philadelphia: J.C. Haswell.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane., & Kirkbride, T. S. (1862). Report of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane for the year 1861. Philadelphia: s.n..
  • Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane., & Kirkbride, T. S. (1871). Reports of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane: For the years 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, and 1870. Philadelphia: publisher not identified.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane., & Kirkbride, T. S. (1878). Report of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane for the year 1877. Philadelphia: s.n..

Isaac Ray, M.D. (1807-1881)

First Superintendent of Butler Hospital, Providence, RI from 1845 to 1867.

  • Ray, I. (1848). Description of the Butler Hospital for the Insane, Providence, R.I. Providence, R.I.: publisher not identified.
  • Ray, I. (1851). Hints to the medical witness in questions of insanity. Utica: Printed at the New York State Lunatic Asylum.

Charles H. Stedman, M.D. (1805-1866)

Superintendent of the Boston Lunatic Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

  • Spurzheim, J. G., and Charles H. Stedman (rev.). The Anatomy of the Brain: with a General View of the Nervous System. Boston: Marsh, Capen & Lyon, 1834.
  • Spurzheim, J. G., and Charles H. Stedman (rev). The Anatomy of the Brain: with a General View of the Nervous System. Boston: Marsh, Capen & Lyon, 1836.

Francis T. Stribling, M.D. (1810-1874)

Physician and superintendent of the Western Lunatic Asylum in Staunton, Virginia

  • Stribling, F. T. (1836). Correspondence. (Menninger Foundation Archives.)
  • Western Lunatic Asylum (Va.), Stribling, F. T., Virginia., & Shepherd & Colin,. (1842). The annual report of the court of directors of the Western Lunatic Asylum to the Legislature of Virginia: With the report of the physician, for 1841. Richmond: Printed by Shepherd and Colin.
  • Stribling, F. T. (October 01, 1852). Qualifications and Duties of Attendants on the Insane. American Journal of Psychiatry, 9, 2, 97-103.
  • Central Lunatic Asylum (Staunton, Va. : 1861-1865), Stribling, F. T., & Virginia. (1863). Report of the president and directors of the Central Lunatic Asylum, for the fiscal years ending September 30, 1863. Staunton, Va.?: publisher not identified.
  • Dr. Francis T. Stribling and Moral Medicine Curing the Insane at Virginia’s Western State Hospital: 1836-1874 by Alice Davis Wood (2004)
  • Dorothea Dix and Dr. Francis T. Stribling: An Intense Friendship - Letters: 1849-1874 by Alice Davis Wood (2008)

Samuel B. Woodward, M.D. (1787-1850)

Superintendent of Worcester State Hospital, Massachusetts

  • Retreat for the Insane at Hartford, Connecticut (now the Institute of Living) Woodward, S. B. 1787-1850. (1838). Essays on asylums for inebriates. [Worcester.]
  • Woodward, S. B. 1787-1850. (1840). Hints for the young in relation to the health of body and mind. 4.ed. Boston: G.W. Light.
  • Woodward, S. Bayard., Sweetser, W., Brigham, A. (1973). The Beginnings of mental hygiene in America: three selected essays, 1833-1850. New York: Arno Press.
  • Woodward, S. B. (200). History of descendants of Henry Woodward of Dorchester, 1635. [S.l.: s.n.]
  • Woodward, S. B. 1787-1850. (1838). Essays on asylums for inebriates. [Worcester.]
  • Woodward, S. B. 1787-1850. (1840). Hints for the young in relation to the health of body and mind. 4.ed. Boston: G.W. Light.
  • Hopkins, M. & Woodward, S. (1846). Address to the people of Massachusetts: on the present condition and claims of the temperance reformation. Boston: Temperance Standard Press, Daniel Kimball, printer.

Hospitals

  • Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane, Virginia. (1800). Report of the Board of Directors and Medical Superintendent of the Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane, Virginia, for the year. Richmond: R.F. Walker. [e-journal available on WorldCat]
  • Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane, Virginia. (1874). Report of the Board of Directors and of the Medical Superintendent of the Central Lunatic Asylum (for colored insane,) Virginia, for the year 1873 and 1874. Richmond: R.F. Walker, superintendent public printing.
  • Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane, Virginia. (1875). Report of the Board of Directors and Medical Superintendent of the Central Lunatic Asylum for colored insane,) Virginia, for the year 1874 and 1875. Richmond: R.F. Walker, superintendent public printing.
  • Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane, Virginia. (1880). Reports of the Board of Directors and of the Medical Superintendent of the Central Lunatic Asylum, (for colored insane,) Virginia, for the fiscal year 1879-80. Richmond: James E. Goode, printer.
  • Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane, Virginia. (1876). Report of the Board of Directors and Medical Superintendent of the Central Lunatic Asylum (for colored insane,) Virginia, for the year 1875 and 1876. Richmond: R.F. Walker, superintendent public printing.
  • Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane, Virginia. (1885). Report of Central Lunatic Asylum for the year.

Misc.

Psychopharmacology – older books on this topic would be a great edition to our rare books collection.