
Descriptive Summary
	Collection Number:	MS C 379
	Creator	American Surgical Association
	Title	American Surgical Association Archives
	Dates:	1880-2005
	Quantity:	18.7 linear feet (16 boxes and 33 volumes)
	Abstract:	The archives of the American Surgical Association consist mostly of records of the preparation for, and the proceedings of, the Association's annual meetings, including presentation of scholarly papers and presidential addresses.

Historical Note

The American Surgical Association was founded in 1880 with the following stated purpose: "the cultivation and improvement of the science and the art of surgery, the elevation of the medical profession and such other matters as may come legitimately within its sphere."

Founder Samuel D. Gross began the regimen of yearly meetings in 1880. As of 1882 the meetings were recorded in the printed Minutes of the American Surgical Association. These meetings, along with the record of the meetings, are the cornerstones of the fulfillment of the stated mission. The primary activities of the yearly meetings consist of presentation of scientific papers; building membership through nomination and selection of new members; granting awards to outstanding members; and business proceedings such as fund raising, disbursement of fellowships, and other financial grants.

G. Thomas Shires' Presidential Address of 1980 states the two major legacies of the Association are "...the founding of American surgical organizations which grew out of the American Surgical Association's membership (including) The American College of Surgeons (1913) and the American Board of Surgery (1937); and the "...strong support of its members for the development of research funding (such as) surgical biological research, beginning in 1945..."

The Society solidified its commitment to providing support for research beginning in 1982 with the establishment of Research Fellowship Awards made annually by the ASA Foundation. The 2000 Presidential address expresses a continued commitment to continuing this support to combat the perceived deficit in new surgical research.

A history of the Association was published in 1981 by member Mark M. Ravitch. A Century of Surgery (1981) is an exhaustive two-volume set including a history of the Association, as well as a by-subject index of the scientific papers contained therein.

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Collection Summary

Correspondence, minutes, speeches, audio recordings, photographs, artifacts, and bound volumes document the organizational activities of the American Surgical Association from 1880 through 2005. The archives of the Association consist mostly of records of the preparation for, and the proceedings of, the Association's annual meetings, including presentation of scholarly papers and presidential addresses. Since the Association's inception in 1880, there has been a keen awareness of its history. This awareness is evident in ASA's careful record keeping and its preservation of tradition. A key component of the collection is the sheer intellectual output by its members: this includes the scholarly research included in the Minutes throughout ASA's history, as well as research papers and journal articles by members.

Both the History and the Meetings series present carefully recorded views into past proceedings, as well as the growth of the Association. The Transactions series represents a broad sampling of the wide-range of published material created by the Association. The Transactions series also serves as ready-reference to recent history, including a list of past and present members, officers, current minutes, and published articles by current members.

On several separate occasions, the Association saw fit to create collections of its official papers in bound volumes. These include the yearly meeting minutes (found within the Meetings series), along with Transactions of the American Surgical Association and the Registration Books (found within the Meetings series).

The collection is organized into the following 9 series: Annual Meetings, Transactions of the American Surgical Association, Committees, Association President, Membership, History, Audio Recordings, and Photographs and Ephemera.

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Restrictions

Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.

Copyright

NLM does possess copyright to the collection. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding use. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.

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Index Terms
	These terms are indexed in the National Library of Medicine's online catalog LocatorPlus. Researchers wishing to find related materials should search the catalog using these terms.
	MeSH Subjects
		Societies, Medical
		Societies, Surgical
		Surgery
	Personal Names
		Ravitch, Mark M., 1910-
		Sparkman, Robert Stanley, 1912-1997
		Starzl, Thomas E. (Thomas Earl), 1926-

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

American Surgical Association. American Surgical Association Archives. 1880-2005. Located in: Modern Manuscripts Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.; MS C 379.

Provenance

Gift from the Association. Accession. Periodic additions are also made.

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Series Descriptions

Foundation Documents, 1909

Box

Folder

Original charter, 1909

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Annual Meetings, 1880-1996 5.5 linear feet
	This series represents the bulk of the collection. Since all the activities revolve around, and result from, the annual meetings, the intellectual output at this event is of key importance to the maintenance of a strong and involved membership.




	The Minutes subseries contains a run of most of the meetings from 1880 to 1998. Within the Minutes subseries there are gaps in the original documentation from 1985-1993. The portions of the omitted minutes can be found in the Transactions series, which contains reprints of Minutes from 1990 onward. Also, information regarding the 1985-1993 meetings for which no minutes are present can be found in the Correspondence series.




	The series is organized chronologically, then alphabetically by the meeting type. Any bound materials are individually filed (including the bound Minutes of the American Surgical Association and Registration Books).




	Please note, the Minutes and the Program of the ASA appear in this series, as they were originally printed for dissemination to the members; the Transactions series consists of bound volumes which include reprints of both for the decade beginning 1990.




	For meetings not Association wide (such as Program Committee meetings) see the Committees series.




	The meeting minutes and the registration book are both in the collection in their original form.




Box	Folder
		Annual Meeting Minutes, 1880-1996
				This subseries consists of meeting minutes printed, or copied from their printed format, as they are distributed to the membership in booklet form each year.
1	1		Annual Meeting, 1880-1893
1	2		Annual Meeting, 1884-1904
1	3		Annual Meeting, 1905-1920
1	4		Annual Meeting, 1921-1930
1	5		Council Meeting, 1927-1952
1	6		Annual Meeting, 1931-1941
1	7		Executive Session, 1934
1	8		Annual Meeting, 1943-1957
1	9		Council Meeting, 1957-1963
1	10		Annual Meeting, 1958-1968
1	11		Council Meeting, San Francisco, 1972
1	12		Midwinter Council, Boston, 1972
1	13		Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, 1973
1	14		Midwinter council meeting, Philadelphia, 1973
1	15		Council meeting of the annual meeting, Colorado Springs, 1974
1	16		Midwinter council meeting, Nashville, 1974
1	17-18		Annual meeting, Quebec City, 1975
1	19-20		Midwinter meeting, Charlottesville, 1975
1	21-23		Council meeting of the annual meeting, New Orleans, 1976
2	1-4		Midwinter council meeting, Jackson, 1977
2	5-6		Council meeting of the annual meeting, Boca Raton, 1977
2	7		Midwinter council meeting, Boston, 1977
2	8-9		Annual meeting, Dallas, 1978, 1978
2	10		Midwinter council meeting, Durham, NC, 1978
2	11-12		Council meeting of the annual meeting, Hot Springs, VA, 1979
2	13		Midwinter council meeting, Rochester, MN, 1979
2	14		Council meeting of the annual meeting, Atlanta, 1980
2	15-16		Midwinter council meeting, New York, 1980
2	17		Council meeting of the annual meeting, Chicago, 1981
2	18-19		Midwinter council meeting, Los Angeles, 1981
2	20		Council meeting of the annual meeting, Boston, 1982
2	21-22		Midwinter council meeting, Chicago, 1982
3	1-4		Midwinter council meeting, Atlanta, 1983
3	5		Spring council meeting, Boca Raton, 1983
3	6		Midwinter council meeting, Pittsburgh, 1984
3	7		Spring council meeting, Toronto, 1984
3	8		Annual Meeting, 1991
3	9		Annual Meeting, 1992
3	10		Business Meeting, 1992
3	11		Executive Business Session, 1992
3	12		Spring Council Meeting, 1992
3	13-14		Minutes, January-April, 1994
3	15		Foundation Board of Trustees, 1994-1998
3	16		Annual Meeting, 1995-1996
3	17		Pre-Council Meeting, 1995-1996
3	18-19		Annual Meeting, 1995-1996
3	20		Annual meeting, Phoenix, 1996
3	21		Board of Trustees, 1996
3	22		Annual Meeting, 1996-1997
3	23		Annual Meeting, 1997-1998
4	1-2		Annual Meeting, 1997-1998
4	3-11	Program of the Annual Meeting, 1884-1969
4	1-12	Program of the Annual Meeting, 1970-2000
		Minutes of the American Surgical Association, 1880-1968
				Contains two sets of bound reprinted minutes, one from ca. 1968 and a second from 1972.
Volume			Set 1, 1968
				[3 volumes]
Volume			Set 2, 1972
				[3 volumes]
		Membership Registration Book, 1881-1961
				There are two copies of this book. One is the original (in two volumes) as it was signed by members over the years, and a second is a 1980 reproduction (in one volume) commemorating the 1980 centennial celebration.
Volume			Original Edition, 1881-1961
Volume			Reprint, 1980

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Transactions of the American Surgical Association, 1990-2005 2.5 linear feet

The Scientific Papers volumes (under the title Transactions of the American Surgical Association) are an especially useful resource. Each volume of the Transactions is a valuable source of general introductory information about the Society. Contained in the front matter of each volume is a brief historical note, a list of the members (fellows), list of the honorary fellows, minutes of the most recent meeting, treasurer's report, annual report, and the address of the president. Beginning in 1990, in other words, the Transactions volumes represent an effort to more completely document the life of the Association in one comprehensive volume.

Container

Vol.

CVIII--CXXIII, 1990-2005, 15 vols.

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Committees, 1897-1997 1.75 linear feet
	Within the Society there are several smaller groups appointed specific tasks. The most important by far are the Membership Committee and the Honorary Fellowship Committee. Because the selection of members and recipients of special awards is a main focus of this series, there is a strong presence of materials about members, including third-party recommendations, curriculum vitae and abstracts of their written research.




	Committees represented in this series are Ethics Committee, Honorary Fellowship Committee, Issues Committee, and Program Committee.




Box	Folder
4	13	Annual meetings committee, 1919-1938
4	14	Ethics committee, 1989-1993
4	15	Flance-Karl award committee, 1996
		Honorary Fellowships, 1982-1996

4	16		Abstracts for Consideration, 1991
4	18		Abstracts for Consideration, 1992
5	1-2		Abstracts for Consideration, 1992
5	3-5		Abstracts for Consideration, 1993
5	6		Andersen, Dana K., application, 1982
5	7		Andersen, Dana K., report, 1983-1994
5	8		Applications, 1993-1994
5	9-11		ASAF, 1990-1996
5	12		Beger, Hans G. -- honorary fellowship candidate, 1988-1991
5	13		Bergentz, Sven-Erik -- honorary fellowship candidate, 1990-1991
5	14		Bismuth, Henri -- honorary fellowship candidate, 1989
5	15		Bromberg, Jonathan -- fellowship award, 1991-99
5	16		Evers, B. Mark -- 5th ASAF, 1989-94
5	17-18		Groth, Carl G. -- honorary fellowship candidate, 1989-1991
5	19-20		Herfarth, Christian -- honorary fellowship candidate, 1989-1990
5	21		Honorary fellowships, 1988
5	22		Luncheon, Apr 18, 1996
5	23		Meetings, 1995-1996
5	24		Myburgh, Johannes A., 1988-1992
5	25		Offers for fellowships, 1981-1985
5	26		Preparation, 1987-1988
5	27		Rosenberg, Lawrence -- 4th ASAF fellow, 1986-94
5	28-29		Shapiro, Michael E. -- fellowship award, 1983-1984 [2 folders]
5	30		Shields, Robert -- honorary fellowship candidate, 1990
5	31		Terblanche, John, -- honorary fellowship candidate, 1991-1993
5	32		Tompkins, Ronald G., 1986-94
6	1		Weigel, Ronald J., 1993-97
6	2		Wong, John, candidate for fellowship, 1989
6	3	Issues committee, 1975-1976
6	4	Nominating Committee, 1996
6	5	Society Program Committees, 1986-1989
10		Committee on Annual Meetings, 1897-1919

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Correspondence, 1959-1996 1 linear foot
	Correspondence includes the communication necessary to organize upcoming meetings and exchanges with and about individual members. The area of fundraising, generally underrepresented in the collection, receives some mention here. The process of deciding how to proceed with an archive is also briefly documented.




	Incoming and outgoing letters are arranged alphabetically by topic, filed (generally) in reverse chronological order. The bulk of the correspondence was originally filed in this manner, and the only changes are to combine multiple collections of the same filing location. For example, two initially separate correspondence folders with the name Mark B. Evers were incorporated together. Organization is always by topic or by correspondent, depending on how the materials were originally filed.




Box	Folder
6	6	American Board of Surgery, 1978-1983
6	7	Annual Meeting, 1995-1996
6	8	Antivivisection issue, 1984
6	9	Archives, correspondence related to, 1980-1981
6	10	Carter, James [US President], letter from, 1980
6	11	Council Meeting, 1996-1997
6	12	Fellows, "Corresponding [international] fellows", 1981
6	13	Foundation meeting, 1992
6	14	History research, 1969-1978
6	15	La Presse Medicale. permission to reproduce, 1982
6	16	Maloney, James V., 1977-1980
6	17-23	Midwinter council meeting, 1984-1991
6	24	Midwinter meeting, 1992
6	25	Minutes, creation of 3 volume set, correspondence about, 1970-1972
6	26-28	Polk, Hiram C. -- correspondence as secretary, 1987-1989
6	29	Requests for contributions, 1977
6	30	Secretarial business, 1959-1970
6	31-32	Sparkman, Robert, project to reproduce past minutes, 1970-1972
6	33	Spring council meeting, 1993
6	34	Starzl, Thomas -- correspondence re: awards, 1987-1990
6	35	Transfer of archives, 1980-1983
6	36	Trustees, 1996

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Association President, 1921-2004 0.7 linear feet
	Records of presidential dinners, correspondence, and transcriptions of presidential addresses combine to create a record of the office and its ceremonial and leadership activities. The Photographs and Ephemera series contains a visual compliment to much of the documentation here, and recordings of presidential speeches in the Audio Recordings series.




Box	Folder
6	37-46	Addresses, 1881-1931
7	1-5	Addresses, 1932-1979
7	6-17	Addresses, copied from original printed minutes, 1881-1973
8	1	Addresses, copied from original printed minutes, 1974-1980
8	2	Correspondence, presidential, 1986-1989
8	3	Presidential dinner menu [signed], 1991
8	4	Presidential dinner, Pittsburgh, 1984
8	5	Presidents [pamphlets], 1987-1991
8	6	Souvenirs from January dinners -- list of, 1964-1990
		Memorial Scrapbooks, 2002-2004
9	29		Murray F. Brennan, M.D., 2002-2003
9	30		R. Scott Jones, M.D., 2003-2004

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Membership, 1892-1992 0.25 linear feet
	This series encompasses materials relating to keeping records of members and potential members, including council books and membership address records. Also present are special files on members, containing information such as curriculum vitae or special honors conferred.




	Up to 1927, there exists a set of records for Minutes of Council, which record the process of choosing new members, who were referred to as "Fellows" until 1957. It is presumed that this process was coupled with the minutes of yearly meetings in later years. Since these pre-1928 books consist mostly of listed names and notes on the character and career of candidates, they are placed with the Membership series. Post-1927 Council Minutes are filed among the Minutes series by year.




Box	Folder
8	7-9	Candidates for membership, 1923-1993
			[before 1957 known as "Candidates for Fellowship"]
8	10	Guest Registration, 1957-1961
8	11	List of members, with addresses, 1955
8	12	Officers and fellows, 1880-1892
8	13	Shumway, Norman -- medallion for scientific achievement, 1992
8	14	Starzl, Thomas, 1990
12		Minutes of Council, 1884-1921
13		Minutes of Council, 1897-1919
14		Minutes of Council, 1918-1927

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History, 1878-1980 0.25 linear feet
	A consistent awareness of the Society's own history is evidenced through their retention of archival records, including records of the process of managing the 1980 anniversary exhibits, and transactions related to the creation of an archival collection. Several publications of the articles and bylaws are retained.




	In 1975 the Foundation of the American Surgical Association was founded. The constitution and bylaws of this unit are also present.




Box	Folder
		100th anniversary, 1878-1980
				The subseries 100th Anniversary Meeting includes prints of photographs, letters, diplomas of fellowship, and other visual materials compiled as part of the centennial exhibit of 1980. The Photographs and Ephemera series contains oversized prints of the same materials from the actual exhibit.
8	15		Charter, 1909-1910
8	16		Commemorative catalog, 1980
8	17		Constitution and bylaws, 1878-1972
8	18		Display placards from centennial exhibit, 1980
8	19		Historical references and reprints, 1908-1930
8	20	Correction to error in "Transactions", 1980
		Foundation of the American Surgical Association, 1975-1979
8	21		Articles of incorporation, 1975-1979
8	22		Bylaws, 1975
8	23	Roberts, John B. correspondence, 1876-1906
11		Treasurer, 1957-1972

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Audio Recordings, 1976-1993 1.2 linear feet
	A group of cassettes and reel-to-reel recordings comprise this series. Presidential addresses comprise the bulk of the audio content. Formats are audiocassette, and standard reel-to-reel.




Box	Folder
8	24	Austen, Gerald W. presidential address; final business meeting -- drake election to presidency -- end banquet speech by David Brinkley [audiocassette], 1986
8	25	Bahnsen. presidential address, 1988
8	26	Bricker. presidential address, final business session, election of W. G., 1985
8	27	Debakey award of medallion. Hanlon Election, 1979-1981
8	28	Drake presidential address -- Varco presentation of medallion for S. A. -- council report -- election, 1987
8	29	Gallo, Robert, first basic science lecture. Introduction by Pres. Najarian, 1989
8	30	Hanlon, C. Rollins. presidential address [reel to reel audiotape], 1982
8	31	Hardy, James D. presentation to Wangensteen [reel to reel audiotape], 1976
8	32	Hardy, James D. presidential address, 1976
8	33	MacLean, Lloyd D. presidential address, 1993
8	34	Maloney, James V. presidential address. DeBakey award of medallion, Hanlon election. F. Moore award - Beahrs election, 1981
8	35	Mannick. presidential address, followed by Nyhus introduction; business meeting with Zeppa election, 1990
8	36	Najarian, John. presidential address -- with intro. by E. Stanley Crawford -- banquet, 1989
9	1	Ravitch, Mark presidential address, Stern intro., executive meeting, Bricker election and response, 1984
9	2	Sabiston, D.C. presidential address [reel to reel audiotape], 1978
9	3	Schwartz, Seymour, election to presidency, 1993
9	4	Shires, G. Tom. presidential address, 1980
9	5	Thompson. presidential address, 1992
9	6	Warren, W. Dean, banquet. remarks by Zollinger, Eiseman, Reemtsma, 1983
9	7	Warren, W. Dean. presidential address. Eiseman introduction; Banquet speaker David Brinkley, 1986
9	8	Zeppa, Robert presidential address, 1991
9	9	Zeppa, Robert speech and newly elected president speech, 1991

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Photographs & Ephemera, 1980-1999 0.25 linear feet
	A collection of latter day photographic records combines with several historic pieces from the 100th anniversary collection to provide a look at Society leadership, activities, record keeping, accomplishments and publications. The historic pieces are mostly oversized pieces from the 100th Anniversary exhibit built in 1980, consisting of photographs; details of publications from the early days; details from the planning of yearly meetings; and lists of officers. The contemporary photographs are mainly from proceedings of yearly meetings, such as presidential elections, speeches, and presentations of papers. Some photographs are accompanied by signed copies of journal articles by way of identification. Not all individuals photographed are identified.




	The artifacts are a collection of keepsakes, including a ceremonial gavel from the 100th Anniversary's collection of gifts commemorating several presidents; other articles inscribed with dates of annual meetings.




Box	Folder
		100th Anniversary, 1980
				From the 1980 centennial exhibit there are oversized prints of a number of prints of photographs, letters, diplomas of fellowship, and other visual materials compiled as part of the centennial exhibit of 1980.
9	10-11		35 mm Slides, 1980
9	12		Negatives of photographs of exhibits, 1980
9	13-14		Photos of exhibits, 1980
9	15		Printed signs used in exhibit, 1980
9	16		Videotape of exhibit, 1980
9	17-18	Annual Meeting Photographs, 1994-1999
9	19	Annual meeting photographs, 1994-2000
9	20	Dragstedt, Lester and Gross, portraits, 1970-1973
9	21	Election of president, photo and negatives, 1992
9	22-23	Journal articles, signed, with photos of authors, 1975-1992
9	24	Lannelongue prize
9	25	Medallion winners, photo negatives, 1880, 1973
9	26	Moore, Francis and Rhoads, Jonathan -- portraits, 1978-1979
9	27	Seals, badges and early photos, 1880-1920
9	28	Wagensteen, Owen H. and Zollinger, Robert M. -- portraits, 1976-1977
15		Artifacts (Dr. James Hardy's 1976 Jefferson Cup with cotton boll; Dr. David Sabiston's 1978 pewter jigger; Gross Pin named in honor of Samuel Gross, etc), 1970-1990
		Oversized exhibit items, 1880-1930

16	1		Gross, Samuel, autobiography excerpt, 1887
16	2		News clippings. Times-Democrat, New Orleans, LA 1888/04/21
16	3		Photographs, 1880-1896
16	4		Program excerpts, 1882, 1884, 1930
16	5		Scientific paper [first], 1881
16	6		Special train car, 1905

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Related Materials

See also the Mark Ravitch Papers, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine.

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Last reviewed: 04 January 2008
Last updated: 01 November 2006
First published: 01 December 2001
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanent: Dynamic Content

Finding Aid to the American Surgical Association Archives, 1880-2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Restrictions

Restrictions

Copyright

Foundation Documents, 1909

Annual Meetings, 1880-1996 5.5 linear feet

Transactions of the American Surgical Association, 1990-2005 2.5 linear feet

Committees, 1897-1997 1.75 linear feet

Correspondence, 1959-1996 1 linear foot

Association President, 1921-2004 0.7 linear feet

Membership, 1892-1992 0.25 linear feet

History, 1878-1980 0.25 linear feet

Audio Recordings, 1976-1993 1.2 linear feet

Photographs & Ephemera, 1980-1999 0.25 linear feet