Pantheon of brains: the Moscow Brain Research Institute 1925-1936

The investigation of Lenin's brain by the German neurobiologist Oskar Vogt and his Russian collaborators in Moscow is one of the most exciting and simultaneously questionable chapters in the history of medicine. With the bizarre claim to be able to detect the material substrate of genius it provoked as much unrealistic expectations in the public as strong criticism by the scientific community of brain researchers. The following paper deals in a brief survey with the foundation and the early history of the Moscow Brain Research Institute (INSTITUT MOZGA) and its initial task - the collecting and mapping the brains of famous (Russian) persons in general and the investigation of Lenin's brain in particular.     

The sound of images: peddlers' calls and tunes in Republican Peking

Street peddlers were a common feature of city life in China well into the twentieth century. The presence of these small-scale, often single-good merchants can be traced back to earlier centuries. That they survived until after WWII reflects in part the state of economic development of China, where recent immigrants were prepared to take up the meanest, lowest-paid jobs to make a living. In Peking, thousands of peddlers roamed the streets, and more particularly, the hutongs where most of the population lived. They ceaselessly offered their goods and services to the residents, day and night. In order to attract customers and to entice them out of their walled houses and courtyards, peddlers uttered musical vocal phrases, sometimes in elaborate form, and more interestingly, they sometimes used musical instruments. In this paper I examine who they were, how they operated and what they represented to Peking's urban society. From this sketchy social portrait, I will move into a study of how the peddlers were represented in various settings of the pictorial records. Finally, I argue that peddlers were an integral part of a kind of street theater. This is not just a metaphor. Through their calls, songs, and music, peddlers created a constant flow of live entertainment in the street.     

The past as commodity: Archaeological images in modern advertising

Abstract

Despite increasing scholarly interest in archaeology and popular culture, the subject of archaeology and advertising has attracted little notice. This article takes a first step towards exploring the topic by deconstructing select ‘archaeoadverts’ from popular North American magazines, published primarily during the last two decades. Particular attention is given to images of Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures. The sample is used to address several overarching questions: What popular preconceptions about archaeology and the archaeological record do advertisers believe are most effective? What kind of ‘authority’ do modern consumers grant to antiquity? How permeable are the boundaries between past and present? And do archaeologists unwittingly collude in perpetuating some of the detrimental stereotypes projected by these advertisements?     

The role of images in the development of Renaissance natural history

This review surveys recent scholarship on the history of natural history with special attention to the role of images in the Renaissance. It discusses how classicism, collecting and printing were important catalysts for the Renaissance study of nature. Classicism provided inspiration of how to study and what kind of object to examine in nature, and several images from the period can be shown to reflect these classical values. The development of the passion for collecting and the rise of commerce in nature's commodities led to the circulation of a large number of exotic flora and fauna. Pictures enabled scholars to access unobtainable objects, build up knowledge of rare objects over time, and study them long after the live specimens had died away. Printing replicated pictures alongside texts and enabled scholars to share and accumulate knowledge. Images, alongside objects and text, were an important means of studying nature. Naturalists' images, in turn, became part of a larger visual culture in which nature was regarded as a beautiful and fascinating object of admiration.     

Spitzka and spitzka on the brains of the assassins of presidents

Abstract

Although four American Presidents have been assassinated (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy), only the assassins of Garfield (Charles Julius Guiteau) and McKinley (Leon Franz Czolgosz) were tried, convicted, and executed for their crime. In 1882 Edward Charles Spitzka, a young New York neurologist with a growing reputation as an alienist, testified at the trial of Guiteau. He was the only expert witness who was asked, based on his personal examination of the prisoner, a direct question concerning the mental state of Guiteau. Spitzka maintained the unpopular view that Guiteau was insane. In spite of aggressive and spirited testimony on Spitzka's part, Guiteau was convicted and hanged. However, even before the execution it was acknowledged, by some experts, that Spitzka was undoubtedly right. About 20 years later, in 1901, Edward Anthony Spitzka, the son of Edward Charles Spitzka, was invited to conduct the autopsy on Czologsz, the assassin of McKinley. At the time Spitzka the younger, who had just published a detailed series of papers on the human brain, was in the fourth year of his medical training. It was an unusual series of fortuitous events that presumably led to Edward A. Spitzka conducting the autopsy on the assassin of the President of the United States while still a medical student. This, in light of the fact that other experts were available. Each Spitzka went on to a career of note and each made a number of contributions in their respective fields. It is however, their participation in the ‘neurology’, as broadly defined, of the assassins of Presidents Garfield and McKinley that remains unique in neuroscience history. Not only were father and son participants in these important events, but these were the only times that assassins of US Presidents were tried and executed.     

Spitzka and Spitzka on the brains of the assassins of presidents

Although four American Presidents have been assassinated (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy), only the assassins of Garfield (Charles Julius Guiteau) and McKinley (Leon Franz Czolgosz) were tried, convicted, and executed for their crime. In 1882 Edward Charles Spitzka, a young New York neurologist with a growing reputation as an alienist, testified at the trial of Guiteau. He was the only expert witness who was asked, based on his personal examination of the prisoner, a direct question concerning the mental state of Guiteau. Spitzka maintained the unpopular view that Guiteau was insane. In spite of aggressive and spirited testimony on Spitzka's part, Guiteau was convicted and hanged. However, even before the execution it was acknowledged, by some experts, that Spitzka was undoubtedly right. About 20 years later, in 1901, Edward Anthony Spitzka, the son of Edward Charles Spitzka, was invited to conduct the autopsy on Czologsz, the assassin of McKinley. At the time Spitzka the younger, who had just published a detailed series of papers on the human brain, was in the fourth year of his medical training. It was an unusual series of fortuitous events that presumably led to Edward A. Spitzka conducting the autopsy on the assassin of the President of the United States while still a medical student. This, in light of the fact that other experts were available. Each Spitzka went on to a career of note and each made a number of contributions in their respective fields. It is however, their participation in the 'neurology', as broadly defined, of the assassins of Presidents Garfield and McKinley that remains unique in neuroscience history. Not only were father and son participants in these important events, but these were the only times that assassins of US Presidents were tried and executed.     

Nation‐freezing: images of the nation and the migrant in citizenship packages

ABSTRACT. New nationalism differs from classical nationalism in terms of its content and focus. Whereas classical nationalism distinguishes itself from other nation‐states in defining its national identity, new nationalism distinguishes the ‘native’ national identity from that of its current and prospective citizens of migrant origin. The terms of integration thus become conditions of membership in the national community. Citizenship and integration policies emerge as central arenas where the discourse of new nationalism unfolds. This study looks into the discourses of cultural citizenship by studying the content of the official ‘citizenship packages’ – materials designed to welcome newcomers and assist them in their integration – in three Western European countries: The Netherlands, France and the UK. What images are depicted of the nation‐state and the migrant in citizenship packages, and (how) do these images freeze the nation?     

The signory and its supporters: the Este of Ferrara

The signory of the Este, like that of other contemporary signori, was officially inaugurated with a public election. The ‘people’ (popolo) of Ferrara thereby instated an hereditary ruler who had absolute powers over the city. This election, together with the fact that there were no successful rebellions against the Este, has led some historians to argue that these signori achieved an implicit understanding with the ‘people’ of Ferrara.The evidence of contemporary chronicles, though often ambigous, does not support this view. Likewise, the legislation of the first Este signore demonstrates a desire to suppress the ‘people’ rather than to co-operate with them. The group whose support was essential to the Este was the nobility; chronicle and archival evidence indicates that the Este considered this group to be the very basis of their signory. The interests of the nobility, as well as the need to maintain good relations with Venice, made far more impact on Estense policy than did the wishes of the ‘people’.     

The signory and its supporters: the Este of Ferrara

The signory of the Este, like that of other contemporary signori, was officially inaugurated with a public election. The ‘people’ (popolo) of Ferrara thereby instated an hereditary ruler who had absolute powers over the city. This election, together with the fact that there were no successful rebellions against the Este, has led some historians to argue that these signori achieved an implicit understanding with the ‘people’ of Ferrara.The evidence of contemporary chronicles, though often ambigous, does not support this view. Likewise, the legislation of the first Este signore demonstrates a desire to suppress the ‘people’ rather than to co-operate with them. The group whose support was essential to the Este was the nobility; chronicle and archival evidence indicates that the Este considered this group to be the very basis of their signory. The interests of the nobility, as well as the need to maintain good relations with Venice, made far more impact on Estense policy than did the wishes of the ‘people’.     

Localisation and William Macewen's Early Brain Surgery Part I: The Controversy

Neurosurgery for the removal of brain tumours based on localising signs is usually dated from the 1884 operation by Bennett and Godlee. However, within weeks of that operation claims were made on behalf of William Macewen, the Glasgow surgeon, to have been the real pioneer of such surgery. According to Macewen's protagonists, he had conducted seven similar operations earlier than Bennett and Godlee and, in a notable 1888 address, Macewen described these seven pre-1884 cases and a number of others operated on after 1884. This paper, which is in two parts, contains an evaluation of the claims made for the priority of Macewen's pre-1884 operations. Part I deals mainly with Macewen's work in fields other than brain surgery that are relevant to it and sets out the facts of the controversy. It begins with a brief biography of Macewen, describes his pioneering work in antiseptic and aseptic surgery, his work on osteotomy and bone regeneration, and his use in brain surgery of the knowledge so gained. Part I concludes with an examination of the battle waged in the newspapers between Macewen's and Bennett's and Godlee's supporters, and of previously unpublished correspondence between Macewen himself, David Ferrier and Hughes Bennett. The primary records of the patients on whom Macewen operated, together with other materials relevant to the controversy, are examined in Part II.