Open
Correspondence, documents, and printed materials collected by Lamb for use in his history, The Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 1868-1943: A History of a Great Medical Adventure (New York: Columbia University Press, 1955). Included is material on the hospital's blood bank, social service department, nursing service, semi-private service, unit medical record, and many other aspects.
History and Biography
Physician and historian. Albert R. Lamb was educated at Yale (A.B., 1903) and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (M.D., 1907). He spent his entire career at Presbyterian Hospital, rising from intern (1907-08) to Attending Physician (1930-1947) in the Dept. of Medicine. He also served as President of the Medical Board, 1941-1945.
Organization
Correspondence, documents, and printed materials relating to the history of Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center collected by Albert R. Lamb for use in his history, The Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 1868-1943: A History of a Great Medical Adventure (New York: Columbia University Press, 1955).
There is material on the hospital’s blood bank, social service department, nursing service, semi-private service, unit medical record, and many other aspects. The papers include Allen O. Whipple’s notes on William Halsted’s time at Presbyterian Hospital in the 1880s, Janet Thornton's history of social work at the hospital, as well as an early version of D. Bryson Delavan’s history of the hospital, published in 1926 as The Early Days of Presbyterian Hospital in the City of New York.
Some of these records Lamb probably acquired in his role as Attending Physician and President of the Medical Board; others appear to have been given to him by Presbyterian staff and physicians.
In addition, the papers hold Lamb’s 129 page typescript entitled “Behind the Scenes on a Physician’s Last Rounds,” written by him during his retirement, c.1957. In the foreword, Lamb explains that he hopes the work will point out “the advantages, the pleasures, the disappointments and the overall picture…of the profession of medicine” based on his fifty years in the field.
| Box | Folder | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Miscellaneous documents & correspondence re: history of Presbyterian Hospital, 1908-1952 |
| 2 | Blood Bank, 1939 | |
| 3 | Contract with Columbia University Press, 1953 | |
| 4 | Delavan, D. Bryson: “Early Days of Presbyterian Hospital,” read Apr. 10, 1909 | |
| 5 | Delavan, D. Bryson: Correspondence re his history, 1923, 1931-1933 | |
| 6 | Delavan, D. Bryson: Transcript of his talk about the history of Presbyterian Hospital, March 15, 1928 | |
| 7 | Expansion/Planning, 1944-1948 | |
| 8 | Full-time system: correspondence, minutes & reports, 1917-1928 | |
| 9 | “Notes on Halsted’s N.Y. Period,” by Allen O. Whipple [in manuscript], c. 1952 | |
| 10 | Neurological Institute, 1920, 1934 | |
| 11 | New York Orthopedic Hospital: Merger with Presbyterian, 1941-1945 | |
| 12 | Nursing, c. 1948 | |
| 13 | Patient Records: Unit Record System at Presbyterian, 1916, 1928 | |
| 14 | Semi-Private Service, 1936-1945 | |
| 15 | “The Social Service Dept. of Presbyterian Hospital, Sloane Hospital and Vanderbilt Clinic, 1904-1946,” by Janet Thornton, 1948 | |
| 16 | South Property: correspondence and documents re purchase, 1937-1940 | |
| 17 | “The Staffing of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center,” report, 1956 | |
| 18 | “Behind the Scenes on a Physician’s Last Rounds,” by Albert R. Lamb, c.1957 |
Subject Headings and Related Records
Administrative Information
Gift of Albert R. Lamb, Jr., 1996 (acc. #1996.08.28)
Removals: A small number of photos that came with the papers have been integrated into the department’s Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center Photograph Collection.