Overview of the Collection
Delaware Academy of Medicine,
John H. Ammon Medical Education Center, 4765 Ogletown Stanton Road, Suite L-10, Newark, DE, 19713
Levinson, John M., 1927-
The John M. Levinson Collection
1985-2006
8 cubic feet
A collection of books, papers, and artifacts from the life and professional career of Dr. John M. Levinson, MD.
US DeWAM DC2
The records are in English.
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Biographical Note
John M. Levinson was born in Atlantic City on August 17, 1927. He served as a pharmacist’s mate in the Navy from 1945 to 1947. After taking a BA at Lafayette College in 1949, he earned his MD at Jefferson Medical College in 1953. He interned at Atlantic City Hospital and was a clinical fellow of the American Cancer Society at Jefferson Medical College Hospital. His residency was in obstetrics and gynecology at Delaware Hospital in Wilmington. In Wilmington, he saw good opportunities to practice medicine, and established a private practice there after leaving the hospital.
From 1957 to 1985, Dr. Levinson practiced obstetrics and gynecology in Wilmington, both privately and at area hospitals, including the Medical Center of Delaware, Riverside Hospital, and St. Francis Hospital. After retiring from private practice, he worked at the Westside Health Service Clinic in Wilmington and the Claymont Community Center, and has provided medical services to several adventure travel companies. He served for 19 years on the teaching staff of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Jefferson Medical College, and was later made an honorary clinical professor there, and was an ob-gyn consultant at the West Virginia Medical Institute for ten years. In 2000, he was elected to membership in Who’s Who in Medicine and Health Care.
He became a Life Member of the Delaware Academy of Medicine in 1957, and has served as the chairman of the Academy’s history committee. He is also a founding member of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, a co-founder and former president of Physicians Emeritus of Delaware, and is a former president of the Delaware Obstetrical Society. Dr. Levinson has held leading positions in the Delaware League for Planned Parenthood, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Medical Society of Delaware, the Delaware Review Organization, and the Board of Professional Responsibility for the Delaware Supreme Court, and among other professional affiliations. He holds the rank of colonel (retired) in the Air Force Medical Corps Reserve. Dr. Levinson is a long-time member of the Explorers Club and served as its president, as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He owns an 800-volume library of books on the poles, one of the ten largest private collections in the country.
Dr. Levinson has traveled to every continent, including the poles, in a professional capacity. He has taught medicine, trained doctors, and established clinics in China and across Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, and has been consulted by the U.S. Senate and the Department of State for his expertise on medical issues in these areas; he has been personally consulted by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Joseph Biden (D-DE), as well as Rep. Paul McCloskey, Jr. (R-CA). He is founder and director of Aid for International Medicine, an organization that has provided millions of dollars in aid to developing countries.
Source:Delaware Academy of Medicine Biographical Collection (AC1), Delaware Academy of Medicine, Newark, DE
Scope and Contents
Dr. Levinson is one of several physicians who have contributed large collections of books to the Delaware Academy of Medicine Archive, including three books of which he is author or co-author. Most of the books in Dr. Levinson’s collection are on the subject of gynecology, with several of those focused on laparoscopy. He has also provided a number of anatomy texts and material related to acupuncture.
The artifacts in this collection consist of both tools and other items Dr. Levinson used himself, and antique medical instruments and containers he has obtained and donated to the Academy.
Dr. Levinson also assisted in the acquisition of some of the materials that make up the collection of Dr. Daniel J. Preston. A finding aid of Dr. Preston's collection is also available.
Besides his contributions to this collection, Dr. Levinson has also extensively supported the Academy’s history committee and the archive financially and through donations of display equipment and reference materials.
Arrangement
Arranged by type of material, and then by date of accession where available.
Related Material
The Hoover Institution for War, Revolution, and Peace in Stanford, California, holds approximately 30 boxes’ worth of Dr. Levinson’s records focusing on his experiences in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. See http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf7g5005f2 for a finding aid of that collection.
The archive's biographical collection (AC1) has a file on Dr. Levinson (AC1-N128), which includes among other things his curriculum vitae, some clippings about him, some of his correspondence, and a questionnaire in which Dr. Levinson relates some memories of his his medical career.
Index Terms
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Persons:
Levinson, John M., 1927-
Organizations:
Delaware Academy of Medicine (Wilmington, Del.)
Aid for International Medicine, Inc.
Places:
Wilmington (Del.)
Subjects:
Medicine -- Delaware -- biography
Gynecology -- Delaware -- biography
Laparoscopy
Acupuncture
Occupations:
Medicine
Gynecology
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open to the public.
Restrictions on Use
No publication or reproduction for anything other than personal use without the permission of the Delaware Academy of Medicine and Dr. John M. Levinson. Any use of these materials must be in accordance with the Delaware Academy of Medicine's archival access policy.
Processing Information
Processed by Christopher Shea, December 2005 - January 2006. Last update to finding aid by Christopher Shea, January 2007. Dates given in the detailed description below are the dates of creation/publication, not of acquisition or accession, except where noted otherwise.
The writing of this finding aid was made possible in part by a Delaware Heritage Commission Challenge Grant.
Accruals
Further accruals of material from Dr. Levinson are possible. They will be arranged, described, and added here as they become available.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Archival papers
French promotional material collection,
1994
Includes booklets published by the French space agency on their programs, a torn-out magazine article on the Steribox program, and a press kit for the Le Temps des Livres national literary festival published by the French Ministry of Defense, some of which relates to the military hospital at Val-de-Grace in Paris.
Artifacts
Acupuncture kit,
1974
A device for producing anesthesia through acupuncture with electrified needles, made in the People's Republic of China. Includes needles, leads, a carrying case, and an instruction manual in English and Chinese.
Acupuncture doll,
undated
A rubber doll marked with acupuncture meridians and points, labeled in Chinese. Includes a wooden stand with other Chinese labels.
Doctor's bag,
undated
A bag formerly used by Dr. Levinson. It has traveled with him to every continent, including Antarctica, as well as to the North Pole. The bag is pictured at the upper left of this page.
Oxygen mask,
1950s
A model "56" portable oxygen tank (now empty) in a plastic carrying case, produced by Metrox, Inc., of Wilmington and Pasadena, California. Includes instructions, a disposable plastic oxygen mask, and plastic tubing.
Bottles, medicine,
1940s
Two glass bottles and a tube. One bottle contains ipecac syrup, with a label from the Gladstone Pharmacy of Margate City, NJ; the other bottle and the tube contain castor oil and lanolin, both commercial preparations from Squibb.
Sterilizer, instrument,
undated
An electric sterilizer for instruments, manufactured by American Sterilizer Company (also known as AMSCO) of Erie, PA. This model has a lever on the side that lifts the lid and raises the instrument tray inside when depressed.
Cautery,
1945
An electric cautery device manufactured by National Electric of Long Island, consisting of a base unit, a pistol-grip device, and a set of four cautery tips of various sizes that can be attached to the "cautery pistol" interchangeably.
Disease prevention kit,
1994
A Steribox kit, designed by the French nonprofit Apothicom and distributed by the French Ministry of Health for AIDS and hepatitis C prevention and protection. It includes two disposable syringes and a box to dispose of them in, a plastic vial of distilled water, two alcohol pads, a condom, and a leaflet of instructions in French.
Hook, fetal extraction,
ca. 1850
A blunt metal hook with ebony handle, used in performing abortions.
Vectis,
ca. 1850
An instrument similar to a single-bladed forceps with an ebony handle. Used to assist in childbirth.
Uterine sound,
c. 1930
A copper sound, its shaft marked at one-inch intervals, used for exploring the uterus.
Saw, surgical,
1840s
A bone saw, used for amputations. The blade is missing.
Speculum,
undated
A one-piece, metal vaginal speculum, with a short tube opening up into a curved flange.
Videotapes,
1995
Three instructional VHS tapes from TAP Pharmaceuticals's Gynecological Workshop series, including Pathologies Encountered at Pelvic Laparoscopy, Vaginal Hysterectomy, and Office Laparoscopy.
Photographs
Slide transparencies,
undated,
1 binder
A set of three slide transparency presentations, 154 slides in total. Includes slides from Dr. Levinson's personal collection, a set of laparoscopy slides from Johns Hopkins Medical School, and slides on gynecological subjects from Ciba. The Johns Hopkins set includes typed notes. Some slides have Dr. Levinson's notations on them.
Slide transparencies,
1973,
1 binder
A set of three slide transparency presentations on laparoscopy and urethroscopy, totaling 267 slides. Includes images of laparoscopic equipment, laparoscopic techniques, and both normal and abnormal anatomical structures photographed via laparoscope. Also includes descriptions for each presentation; some slides bear handwritten notes by Dr. Levinson. One presentation is dated 1973, the other two are undated.
Books
Practical Prevenception, William J. Robinson,
1929
Handbook of the Hospital Corps: United States Navy,
1939
Practitioner in Physick: A Biography of Abraham Wagner 1717-1763, Andrew S. Berky,
1954
A Practical Treatise on the Diseases Peculiar to Women, Samuel Ashwell,
1845
The Diseases of Females, Fleetwood Churchill,
1843
On the Diseases of Women, Fleetwood Churchill,
1852
A Practical Treatise on the Physical Exploration of the Chest, Austin Flint,
1866
Atlas d'Anatomie Descriptive, Johannes Sobotta,
1903-08
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Technique of Operations on the Bones, Joints, Muscles and Tendons, Robert Soutter,
1917
The Application of the Principles and Practice of Homoeopathy to Obstetrics and the Disorders Peculiar to Women and Young Children, Henry N. Guernsey,
1878
Puerpueral Infection, Arnold W. W. Lea,
1910
Psychopathia Sexualis, R. von Krafft-Ebing,
1936
A Practical Treatise on the Diseases Peculiar to Women, Samuel Ashwell,
1845
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Gynecologic Operations and Their Topographic-Anatomic Fundamentals, Heinrich Martius,
1939
Medical Lexicon, Robley Dunglison,
1860
Handatlas der Anatomie des Menschen, Werner Spalteholz,
1920
Woman: Her Diseases and Remedies, Charles D. Meigs,
1854
The Actions of Medicines in the System, Frederick William Headland,
1920
The Principles and Practice of Medicine, William Osler,
1903
On the Theory and Practice of Midwifery, Fleetwood Churchill,
1851
Shorebirds: The Birds, the Hunters, the Decoys, John M. Levinson and Somers G. Headley,
1991
Safe Passage Questioned, John M. Levinson and Errol Ger,
1998
Advanced First Aid Afloat, Peter F. Eastman and John M. Levinson,
2000
A Compendious System of Midwifery, William P. Dewees,
1824
An Atlas of Anatomy, J. C. Boileau Grant,
1947
Examination of the Heart,
1940
Laparoscopy, Culdoscopy, and Gynecography, Melvin R. Cohen,
1970
Laparoscopy, Colposcopy, Hysteroscopy, and You, Theresa Marousek,
1992
The Nature of Tropical Diseases, Justus F. Mueller and Justus B. Rice,
1946
Laparoscopy in Gynaeocology, Patrick C. Steptoe,
1967
Acupuncture Therapeutics, Frederick F. Kao,
1973
Manual of Endoscopy, David L. Martin, ed.,
1993