Skip to main content

Innes Smith Medical Portrait Collection

 Fonds
Reference code: POR 7

Scope and Contents

Approximatly 300 portraits of medical men from the 16th to the early 20th centuries collected by Robert Innes Smith (1872-1933), a doctor who worked in the Brightside area of Sheffield. Most of the items in the collection are engravings, mezzotints, lithographs and photographs, the majority being portraits of distinguished medical men although some non-medical related portraits are also included within the collection. The collection reflects the interests of Innes Smith, a large proportion of the portraits being Scottish and Continental sitters. The largest component is the group of Georgian and Victorian medical men. Many of them are not listed in Burgess: 'Portraits in the Wellcome Institute', London, 1973. The nineteenth century photographs (e.g. Addison, Lister) are unusual and rare. This may well be the largest institutional collection of medical portrait-prints outside London.

For further details of this collection and digitised images, please see the External Documents section below.

Dates

  • Creation: 1700s - 1911

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Available by appointment

Biographical / Historical

Robert William Innes Smith (1872-1933) was a graduate in medicine of Edinburgh University and a general practitioner for thirty three years in the Brightside district of Sheffield. His strong interest in medical history and art brought him some acclaim, and his study of 'English-speaking students of medicine at the University of Leyden', published in 1932, is regarded as a model of its kind. Locally in Sheffield Innes Smith was highly respected as both a doctor and a scholar: his pioneer work in the organisation of ambulance services and first-aid stations in the larger steel works made him many friends.

Extent

Approx. 300 Item(s)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Arranged by subject

Custodial History

Purchased by the University c.1936. On Innes Smith's death, part of his large collection of books and portraits was acquired for the University.

Related Materials

Innes Smith Collection (INN1). Innes Smith Personal Papers (210).

Author
Lawrence Aspden
Date
January 2002
Description rules
International Standard for Archival Description - General
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
Western Bank Library
University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN United Kingdom
+44 (0) 114 222 7299