Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Hiroshima Scrapbook
Date(s)
- 1948 (Creation)
Extent
0.25 cubic feet (1 box)
Name of creator
Administrative history
The McGovern Historical Center (MHC) is the historical and special collections department for The TMC Library. The MHC maintains rare book and archival collections. Artificial collections have been created to provide access to materials without clear provenance in order to increase discoverability.
The earliest acquisition records for the books in the MHC are found in the Houston Academy of Medicine’s (HAM) Library Committee reports for 1935 and 1936. Thirty Fellows of the Academy raised $300 to purchase a collection of 275 French medical books published between 1730 and 1830. In 1949, HAM and Baylor College of Medicine combined their medical libraries. In anticipation of the completion of the Jesse H. Jones Building for the library, the MD Anderson Foundation purchased the rheumatology collection of a New York physician, Dr. Reginald Burbank. This purchase was followed by a gift from the Cora and Webb Mading Foundation of more than 1,000 titles on sanitation and communicable diseases. After the 1954 dedication of the library building, many physicians donated books or historical pamphlets to be stored in a very small, locked room on the second floor. Soon after his arrival in Houston, Dr. McGovern became one of the Library’s most staunch supporters, annually supplying funds for the purchase of rare books and travel support for the librarians to attend meetings of the American Association for the History of Medicine. In 1977, The Library formed a new department with new quarters to collect historical materials and to enhance the rare book collections. In 1982, Dr. McGovern donated his personal collection of rare and historical books to the Library. In 1996 the Library’s Board of Directors named the historical department in his honor.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection consists of three pages from a scrapbook and 23 photos depicting scenes in Hiroshima and staff members of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC). This scrapbook may have belonged to Louise Cavagnaro, RN, who was a nurse with the ABCC in Hiroshima in 1948, when many of the pictures were taken. Cavagnaro donated her ABCC papers to the Texas Medical Center Library. Those papers seem to have been integrated into other collections or into the ABCC photo collection. These scrapbook pages were found in the archive without any descriptive data or record. All photos are provided with clear captions except for a photo of Cavagnaro, who is known through other photos that she donated to the archive. Each page measures 11 inches by 14 inches.
Subjects: ABCC, Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, Louise Cavagnaro, Hiroshima.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted. Open for research.
Physical access
The 23 photos are in excellent condition.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright restrictions may apply.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
None.
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Deed-3
Immediate source of acquisition
Unknown. Possibly Louise Cavagnaro, RN. Acquisition date unknown, but accessioned February 1, 2012.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
No accruals are expected for this collection.
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
- Citation: Hiroshima Scrapbook; MS 155; John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library. Please cite the box and folder numbers where appropriate.
Alternative identifier(s)
TARO
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Processed by Philip Montgomery, 2012.
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Cavagnaro, Louise (Subject)
- Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (Subject)