Liverpool Medical Institution

Liverpool Medical Institution is one of the oldest medical societies in the world, tracing its origins to the founding of the Liverpool Medical Library in 1779. The collection is housed in a purpose-built building on Mount Pleasant. The building, designed by architect Clark Rampling, was opened in 1837 and extended in 1966. The collection comprises a substantial number of books dating from the 16th century, together with a small but rare collection of manuscripts and other archival material and medical instruments from the 19th and 20th century.

Many of the items in the collection were donated by members past and present, including many who were key figures in the development of medicine. These include the orthopaedic archives of Hugh Owen Thomas and his nephew, Sir Robert Jones, as well as the glass slides archive of Thurstan Holland, one of the earliest exponents of radiology in Britain.