1. July 1920-April 1923, 1920-1923

File — Box: 1, Folder: 1

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: This collection of records of the secretary of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, spanning 1919 to 1939, was compiled by John H. Girvin, Secretary of the College from 1919 to 1934. Included is correspondence, printed material, and photographs pertaining to Associate Fellow Robert Abbe and the custodianship of the Abbe Cabinet. Series 1 contains letters written to Girvin and Librarian Charles Perry Fisher, with carbon copies of some of Fisher's replies. The primary correspondent is William W, Keen, custodian of the Abbe Cabinet from 1924 to 1928. The collection also includes letters from previous custodians, Simon Flexner and William Henry Welch, and several letters written by Robert Abbe before his death on 7 March 1928. Other correspondents include E. B. Krumbhaar, Walter Mendelson, and William J, Taylor. Of special interest is a letter from Louis B. Laplace to Robert Abbe (with Abbe's letter of 23 September 1926) in which Laplace explains that the flask given to his father by Louis Pasteur will not be available for display in the Abbe Cabinet. The letters written after Robert Abbe's death document William W. Keen's activities as custodian of the Abbe Cabinet. Keen, who was spending the summer of 1928 in Mohonk Lake, New York, corresponded frequently with Girvin and Fisher. The topics addressed in Keen's letters include the purchase of a museum case from the Library Bureau, the addition of the Harvey cup and saucer and Abbe mementos to the Abbe Cabinet, and the establishment of the "Dr. Robert Abbe Collection of Medical Medals". Keen also announces his intention to write a history of the Abbe Cabinet and its conten~.:,; he planned to read his history at a L.:ollege meeting in the fall of 1928, before he surrendered the custodianship of the Abbe Cabinet to William J, Mayo. Series 2 contains items compiled by Abbe's secretary, May Moon. This material was sent to Girvin for use in a memorial volume to Robert Abbe. Included are two letters to Girvin from May Moon; bookplates and printed material from Lafayette National Park (now Acadia National Park) in Bar Harbor, Maine; the program from the dedication of the Robert Abbe Museum, also in Bar Harbor; numerous obituaries and memoirs of Robert Abbe; and photoprints of the Robert Abbe Memorial Museum and Abbe's homes in Philadelphia and Bar Harbor. Of special interest is a signed letter (in French, 21 March 1922) to Robert Abbe from Marie Curie. Miscellaneous printed material and photographs are contained in Series 3. Included are two pamphlets entitled "The Custodianship of Rush-Jenner-Pasteur-Lister-Curie Mementos in the Cabinet of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia" (ca. 1920 and 1939) and sales pamphlets from the Library Bureau (1923). Also present is a photoprint of Walter Mendelson (1922) and a photoprint of Robert Abbe.