| PG-266672-19 | Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance Grants | Joan & Sanford I.Weill Medical College of Cornell University | Preserving the History of America's Second Oldest Hospital | 10/1/2019 - 9/30/2022 | $15,000.00 | Nicole | | Milano | | | | Joan & Sanford I.Weill Medical College of Cornell University | New York | NY | 10065-4805 | USA | 2019 | U.S. History | Preservation Assistance Grants | Preservation and Access | 15000 | 0 | 10000 | 0 | The purchase of preservation supplies, such as
acid-free boxes and folders, to rehouse the medical center archives of New York
Presbyterian Hospital, the second oldest hospital in the United States and
chartered in 1771 by King George III of England. The archives contain over 1,500 linear feet
of materials that document the full 250-year history of the hospital, including
records of Aaron Burr, who served as a member of the Board of Governors;
Alexander Hamilton, who supported the Lying-In Hospital of the City of New
York; Dr. David Hosack, the personal physician for Hamilton and Burr; early
illnesses and epidemics; and nineteenth-century medical and surgical casebooks.
The Medical Center Archives at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine requests $15,000 from National Endowment for the Humanities to preserve and rehouse collections related to the 250th anniversary of American independence. Following the recommendations of a preservation consultant, the NEH funding will be used to purchase acid-free supplies after a HEPA cleaning of the collections by a professional disaster recovery agency. Two staff members, both of whom have strong experience in preservation projects, will safely rehouse the newly cleaned collections following decades of poor storage conditions. The unique collections covered under the scope of this grant document the history of the second oldest hospital in the U.S., created around the time of the American Revolution. The rehousing of these collections will help ensure their preservation and accessibility moving forward, including for projects supporting the 250th anniversaries of both the hospital and the U.S. |