The First 125 Years of the Medical College of Virginia - published in 1963.

A new addition to the VCU Libraries Digital Collections: The First 125 Years of the Medical College of Virginia, available at http://go.vcu.edu/mcvhistory.  MCV celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1963, culminating in the publication of this volume. Issued as hard- and soft-back publications in the college’s bulletin series, the 96-page photo history, largely the work of Thelma Vaine Hoke, was the college's first full-length history. Hoke pulled photographs, letters, documents, reports, and publications for the book from a rich collection of historical materials gathered and preserved by James Ralph McCauley, who served as secretary-treasurer for the college and secretary for the Board of Visitors from 1902 until his death in 1950.

MCV is now 172 Years Old - it was founded in 1838.

Visit the VCU Libraries' Digital Collections at http://dig.library.vcu.edu/

And visit the Archives of the Medical College of Virginia

at the Tompkins-McCaw Library on the MCV campus of VCU.

-- Ray B.

MCV's Mr. Murrill's Murals, 1930s

A new posting from Harry Kollatz on his blog The Hat is worth mentioning - it is all about the murals VCU is going to save that were erected in the 1930s at the A.D. Williams Clinic building (the building is coming down but the murals will be saved) on the MCV campus.

Read HERE all about it.

Rare postcard view of Church Hill from 1908

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East from Medical College on Marshall Street, Richmond, Va., postmarked 1908.

This view of Church Hill was probably taken from the Medical College of Virginia’s Egyptian Building. The same view today is punctuated by Interstate 95. This image is one of nearly 250 found in the new book Greetings from Richmond - which focuses on Richmond's architectural history. Order the book Here. It makes for a great Holiday gift!

What's the history of the "Egyptian Building, Medical College of Virginia" ?

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"Egyptian Building, Medical College of Virginia"
from the July 19, 1936 issue of the Richmond Times-Dispatch's
Sunday Magazine and Book Review section.

This is the second image we have reproduced by John W. De Groot (1915-1995) - the first one is Here. De Groot worked for the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the late 1930s as an illustrator and writer. He provided many of the illustrations for the TD's Sunday Magazine section at that time period. This issue is courtesy of Richard Bland. I will be posting more on De Groot and his great illustrations of Richmond scenes in future posts.

The Egyptian Building, 1223 E. Marshall Street, built 1844, was designed by Philadelphia architect Thomas S. Stewart (1806-1889) and is considered one of the finest extant examples of the rare “Egyptian Revival” style. The building was originally built for the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College which in 1854 became an independent entity, the Medical College of Virginia (MCV).

The building featured three lecture halls, a large dissecting room, and an infirmary. Stewart also designed the building’s enclosure – granite obelisks for gateposts and a cast-iron railing running between herm figures, often mistaken for mummies.

In 1938-39, the Richmond architectural firm of Baskervill and Son made modifications to both the exterior and interior, including creating a neo-Egyptian auditorium. The Egyptian Building is still used by students, faculty, and staff on the MCV campus of VCU.

Visit the Archives of the Tompkins-McCaw Library for more information about MCV's history.

- Ray B.