At the time of his death a century ago, the Canadian physician Sir William Osler (1849–1919) was considered to be the most famous doctor in the world. His best-known book, The Principles and Practice of Medicine (1892), which outlined and described how physicians should treat illnesses of all kinds, had become a much-reprinted classic. His belief in the importance of learning medicine by direct contact with patients as well as with textbooks, and his persistence in promoting this view, transformed the education of medical students. His talks and essays were eagerly awaited and widely read, for their helpful and practical turns of phrase, common sense advice, and enviable range of biblical, classical, and literary allusions. He was especially respected and revered by those at the great institutions he had served—McGill University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and the University of Oxford—and his influence was felt widely by medical students and physicians, most of whom had come into contact with his writings or his charismatic personality. Osler was also well known as a book collector, generous donor to libraries, and strong proponent of reading widely, in the humanities as well as the sciences, owning books, and assembling personal collections.
In 2019, though Osler is still remembered and respected by many physicians and collectors, his words are encountered most frequently by the general public in the self-help section of bookstores, in the form of the advice that he gave in “A Way of Life,” an address to Yale students on April 20, 1913. In this talk, Osler advised his listeners to adopt the habit of living in “day-tight compartments,” that is, to conduct their lives on the same principles as those used in the construction of a large ship built with watertight compartments which, in an emergency, could be sealed off from each other. Living one’s life according to this principle means that time should be spent focusing on the matters directly at hand, rather than unduly concerning oneself with the missteps or failures of the past or possible difficulties in the future. This idea of living in the present has been recommended by many writers of books of advice, some of whom, including Dale Carnegie, in How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, quote and credit Osler directly, thus continuing to introduce Osler’s “day-tight compartments” to new generations of readers.
American surgeon Harvey Cushing wrote the monumental two-volume biography, The Life of Sir William Osler (1925), which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1926. The portrait at left served as the book’s frontispiece.
Courtesy of the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Although Dr. William Osler concentrated his book collection on landmark works in science and medicine, his reading and collecting ranged much more widely, and this is reflected in Bibliotheca Osleriana (1929), the posthumously published catalogue of his library. The “Bibliotheca Prima” section chronologically lists some of the most important works in science and medicine, while “Bibliotheca Secunda,” carries the secondary, if still notable, works.
Courtesy of the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Osler, whose idea of living in “day-tight compartments” was inspired in part by an essay by Thomas Carlyle, was a devoted reader of books from an early age, and he began purchasing them and building his own library as soon as he could afford to do so. Though he concentrated on landmark works in science and medicine, his reading and collecting ranged much more widely, and this is reflected in Bibliotheca Osleriana, the posthumously published catalogue of his library. Bibliotheca Osleriana is one of the most interesting and enjoyable of private library catalogues, as many of the entries contain essays and comments by Osler. The catalogue is divided into several sections, with pride of place given to “Bibliotheca Prima,” a chronological listing of some of the most important works in science and medicine. This is followed by a section entitled “Bibliotheca Secunda,” which includes “works of men who have made notable contributions, or whose works have some special interest, but scarcely up to the mark of those in Prima.” The catalogue also includes sections covering literature, history, biography, bibliography, incunabula, and manuscripts, which are so rich in what they describe that it’s difficult for a present-day reader to remain in a day-tight compartment of 2019, and not regret the opportunities that were available to collectors with intelligence and resources in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
For bibliophiles, even an unannotated listing of books can be interesting, but the interest increases considerably when such a listing also includes historical, biographical, and bibliographical details about the books and their authors or prior owners. Just as Osler felt that the best way to learn and practice medicine was to spend as much time with patients as possible, he also knew that to learn about books, it wasn’t sufficient merely to read what others had written about them—one needed to spend time reading, handling, and closely observing the books themselves. Osler followed this practice for decades, and his judgment in what he included in his library, as well as his detailed knowledge of his books, are evident throughout the hundreds of pages of Bibliotheca Osleriana.
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Courtesy of the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
From 1932 to 1953, Eli Lilly and Company of Indiana sent a copy of Aequanimitas as a gift to each graduating medical student, along with a letter like this one, extolling Osler’s “persistent search for truth.”
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Courtesy of the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Osler’s best-known book, The Principles and Practice of Medicine (1892), which outlined and described how physicians should treat illnesses of all kinds, became a much-reprinted classic.
Though Sir William Osler died before he could complete his work on his own library catalogue, his writings about his books were preserved and incorporated into Bibliotheca Osleriana, to the great benefit of future generations. His books also remained together, and according to Osler’s wishes, they were donated by his widow, Lady Grace Revere Osler, to McGill University in Montreal, where they remain today as the core of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine. Osler’s example of humane and enlightened collecting also served to influence many eminent private collectors in their pursuits, including fellow physicians Harvey Cushing, John F. Fulton, Arnold Klebs, Sir Geoffrey Keynes, and K. Garth Huston. May the example that Osler set so well in the formation and description of his Bibliotheca Osleriana continue to grow and flourish.
