Catalogue des Livres Composant la Bibliotèque Scientifique de Claude Bernard (Catalog of the Books Composing the Scientific Library of Claude Bernard), 1878

French physiologist Claude Bernard died in February 1878. In June of that year, his personal library of over 1,000 items came up for auction. Intellectually curious and widely respected, Dr. Bernard’s library reflects his commanding role at the epicenter of modern Western medicine.

In the 19th century, an entire book would require a substantial amount of time to make and its distribution would be narrow, since the costs to produce and purchase books were relatively high. Both the need and the technology to produce something faster and more nimbly developed; and so the scientific and medical pamphlet presses were born.

—Rare Book Librarian