Wellcome Library - Collections

Collections

History of medicine collection

A collection of books, journals and other print materials, and electronic resources, dealing with the history of all aspects of medical science and practice, as well as allied scientific disciplines, social sciences and humanities. Currently comprises over 80,000 volumes in many languages, published from 1850 to the present day.

Clinical medicine collections

Medical and scientific literature reflecting the course of medical thought and practice in different social and cultural settings. Comprises thousands of medical monographs, anatomical atlases, pharmacopoeias, 20,000 items of medical ephemera, a growing number of electronic resources and much more.

Medicine and society collections

An extensive collection of printed and electronic resources on a diverse range of subjects, including popular science, consumer health, biomedical science policy, research ethics, science education and public engagement with science.

Asian collections

Comprises 12,000 manuscripts and 4,000 printed books in 43 different languages. The collection includes over 1000 manuscripts written on palm leaves, and others transcribed on silk, ivory, metal, bone, bamboo and tree bark. A medical prescription from ancient Egypt, written on papyrus (c.1100 BCE), is the oldest document in the Wellcome Library.

Archives and manuscripts

Includes many European unpublished records dating from antiquity to the 20th century. The manuscripts contain material in 25 different languages. The (mainly) 20th-century archives concentrate on material in English. They include papers of eminent figures in medical science and related areas (such as Francis Crick and Melanie Klein) as well as records of numerous and diverse organisations (such as the Family Planning Association and Action on Smoking and Health).

Rare book collection

Approximately 60,000 pre-1851 rare books including c. 600 incunabula (books printed before 1501) and c. 5000 books from the 16th century. All aspects of medical science and practice are represented, and there are wide and varied holdings in allied subjects.

Paintings, prints and drawings collection

Over 100,000 prints, drawings, paintings, photographs and other media, ranging from the 14th century to the present day, and geographically from Japan and China in the east through Tibet and India to Turkey, Europe and the Americas, with smaller collections dealing with Africa and Australasia. In accordance with Wellcome's philosophy, the works show the historical and cultural contexts of medicine as well as internal developments in medical techniques and practices.

Moving image and sound collections

Over 4000 films and videos and 1500 audio tapes, both broadcast and non-broadcast, covering the many and varied aspects of medicine: social and clinical areas of science, historical and current topics, physical and psychological aspects of health and surgery. The library's film digitisation project, Wellcome Film, is in the process of digitising over 450 titles from this collection. The online videos can be watched on the library's website.

Some of these titles are now available through a Wellcome Film YouTube channel.

Wellcome images

A selection of images from the Wellcome Library's collections, from illustrations in manuscripts and rare books to painting, prints and photographs. It also has a large collection of contemporary clinical and biomedical images from teaching hospitals, research laboratories and photographers throughout the UK and beyond. Images on Wellcome Images are freely available for download for personal, academic teaching or study use, under Creative Commons licences.