Reports of the Committee on the Mütter Museum

Collection

Identifier: CPP 10/007-01

Scope and Contents

The collection contains annual reports of the Committee on the Mütter Museum to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, describing the activities, acquisitions, and concerns of the museum, and semi-annual reports on its receipts and expenditures, 1864-1941. Occasional reports of the curators and curatorial correspondence are included. Although the content of the individual reports varies, each generally contains: a list of acquisitions, purchases, or donations made to the museum collection; notes on the physical condition of the facility and the exhibits; statistics on visitors; and a summary of the use of the collection for educational purposes. There are also reports of the nomination of each Mütter lecturer. Noteworthy items are reports made in 1901, responding to concerns raised by S. Weir Mitchell, and 1925; these reports both describe the restrictions of the Mütter Trust and consider the function of the Mütter Museum in the College of Physicians.

Dates

1864 - 1941

Creator

College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Committee on the Mütter Museum (Organization)

Biographical / Historical

The Committee on the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia was first appointed in January 1863. It was charged with the general supervision of the anatomical and pathological museum established by the articles of agreement made between the College and Thomas D. Mütter in 1858-1859. The chairman of the committee was to report annually on the condition of the museum and semi-annually on its financial situation and also receive the income from the Mütter Trust and make disbursements to the museum’s curator and the Mütter lecturers. In 1886, the duties of the College’s Committee on Lectures, which chose and supervised the Mütter lecturers, devolved onto the Committee on the Mütter Museum. In 1935, the College formed a Committee on College Collections to care for, exhibit, and loan any objects received by the College which were not covered by the Mütter Trust. The officers of this committee were identical to the officers of the Committee on the Mütter Museum, and the two bodies met consecutively. In 1990, the Committee on the Mütter Museum became inactive, and general oversight of the Mütter Museum was assumed by the College’s Committee on Program.