MoHMA.org

MCA

The MCA (Medical Collectors Association was begun in 1984. Several collectors had urged me to create a formal organization to discuss our collective interests. At the time there was a great interest in medical antiques by both collectors and museum curators. In connection with the group I provided a certificate, published a quarterly newsletter and organized a meeting once a year in various locations, mostly where there were medical museums. The first meeting was held in Washington DC under the auspices of the Smithsonian. The meeting had medical dealers who offered some select items and collectors and curators, some of whom would present talks on their recent acquisitions or research. The meetings were attended by about 20 or 30 people and we gathered at the end of the day for social dinner. At its peak the group had about 150 members. I still am in contact with some of them. The group was disbanded after 2002 after publishing 42 newsletters. Funds became scarce for the curators and the collectors began to turn to the internet for their collecting and information. That was coupled with the lack of interest of the recent generation of physicians and other potential medical collectors. The main auction houses which held medical instrument auctions discontinued them because of the low profit margin and the value of rare book in medicine fell dramatically. This section provides some insight into that productive era in the collection of medical antiques. Each newsletter can be viewed by clicking on the link:
1, 1984June.pdf
2, 1984Nov.pdf
3, 1985-Nov.pdf
4, 1985July.pdf
5, 1985March.pdf
6, 1986-Dec.pdf
7, 1986-July.pdf
8, 1986-March.pdf
9, 1987-July.pdf
10, 1987-March.pdf
11, 1987-Nov.pdf
12, 1988-Dec.pdf
13, 1988-Feb.pdf
14, 1988-July.pdf
15, 1989-March.pdf
16, 1989-Oct.pdf
17, 1990-March.pdf
18, 1990-Nov.pdf
19, 1991-March.pdf
20, 1991-Nov.pdf
21, 1992-21.pdf
22, 1992-22.pdf
23, 1993-23.pdf
24, 1993-24.pdf
25, 1994-25.pdf
26, 1994-26.pdf
27, 1995-27.pdf
28, 1995-28.pdf
29, 1996-29.pdf
30, 1996-30.pdf
31, 1997-31.pdf
32, 1997-32.pdf
33, 1998-33.pdf
34, 1998-34.pdf
35, 1999-35.pdf
36, 1999-36.pdf
37, 2000-37.pdf
38, 2000-38.pdf
39, 2001-39.pdf
40, 2001-40.pdf
41, 2002-41.pdf
42, 2002-42.pdf