The Historical Collection of the Rudolph Matas Medical Library was established with the founding of the Medical College of Louisiana (now Tulane University School of Medicine) in 1834. The collection consists of all books in the library published before 1871, works on local medical history, Garrison & Morton items, and American journals published before 1850. Strengths of the collection are medical Americana, military medicine (Confederate imprints and the works and reports of other wars), and the practice of medicine in Louisiana. Major documents in the collection include the Prospectus, relating to the founding of the Medical College of Louisiana, and the Registre du Comite Medicale de la Nouvelle Orleans, the minutes of the licensing board of Eastern Louisiana, 1816-1854. Images of both documents are available in electronic format via the Historical Collection web page. The collection includes publications, memorabilia, and miscellaneous rare materials on Dr. Rudolph Matas, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane School of Public Health, and Tulane Hospital Unit 24 in World War II. The special collections that are a part of the history collection include the Elizabeth Bass Collection on Women in medicine, the Diploma & Certificate Collection, the Louisiana Physicians File, Medical Art and Portraits Collections, Weinstein Medallion Collection, the Light Collection of Scientific Letters, the Dr. John Joseph Archinard Collection, the James L. Griffin Collection, and the Historical Library of E.C. Faust. Medical memorabilia and ephemera are also an integral part of the collection, consisting of such items as photographs, matriculation tickets, and surgical instruments. SERVICES: Reference questions, photocopying, and other duplication at the discretion of the librarians. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., CST, Monday through Friday.

The Historical Collections contain approximately 4,500 books; approximately 56 American journals published before 1850; 15 Louisiana journals published before 1866. The Bass Collection contains approximately 320 books, 6 file cabinet drawers of clippings, pictures, and photographs; more than 3,000 portraits; more than 400 pictures on medical art.