Camper, Petrus (1722-1787)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0114 MS0061
Held at	: Royal College of Surgeons of England   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums-and-archives/archives/ ›
Full title	: Camper, Petrus (1722-1787)
Date(s)	: 1805-[1800s]
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 2 volumes
Name of creator(s)	: Owen | Sir | Richard | 1804-1892 | Knight | comparative anatomist and palaeontologist Camper | Petrus | 1722-1789 | Dutch comparative anatomist and palaeontologist x Camper | Peter x Camper | Pieter

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Petrus Camper was born in Leiden, in 1722. He studied at Leiden University. He began lecturing at the University of Franeker, in 1749, and he taught in Amsterdam from 1756. He relocated to Groningen in 1763, to lecture in theoretical medicine, anatomy, surgery and botany. He supported his teachings with practicals and drawings, which he made himself. Camper made contributions to theoretical and practical medicine, especially in the fields of surgery and obstetrics. His main contribution was in comparative anatomy, where he studied skeletons of both animals and people, and studied racial differences based on anatomical sections and measurements of the skull. He died in 1787.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers relating to Petrus Camper, 1805-[1800s], comprising 2 volumes of manuscript translations of works by Petrus Camper, mostly by unknown translators but including Sir Richard Owen. Containing treatises on the organs of hearing of various fish and a whale, 1805; and a treatise on the Orangutan, [1800s].

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

As outlined in Scope and Content.

Conditions governing access:

By written appointment only.

Conditions governing reproduction:

No photocopying permitted.

Finding aids:

Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Library of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1928) by Victor G Plarr.

Archival Information

Archival history:

The undated second volume was found amongst the papers of Sir Richard Owen.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The provenance of the items are unknown.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Anya Turner.
Source: University of Groningen website: http://www.rug.nl/museum/geschiedenis/hoogleraren/camper

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Aug 2008