Clio Medica July 1979-80 [antikvár]

This issue of Clio Medica is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Poynter and his work which will be remembered for a long time by future historians researching in the fíeld of medicine and man. His main achievement was the development and organisation of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine (as it is called since 1968). From 1964 onwards, when he was appointed director of the Historical Medical Museum and Library, to the time of the great Congress of the International Society in London, 1972, "Dr. Poynter has been" as L.G. Stevenson said one year later "an international as well as a national figure. It is undeniable, none the !ess, that his greatest services, in addition to his own contributions to scholarship, have been rendered in London to the scholars of many lands. Whether he served colleagues on the scene or visiting from America, Noéi Poynter has provided the most sympathetic, knowledgeable and imaginative assistance to his fellow scholars. Over the years he has alsó provided the facilities and the aid which have stimulated the researches of younger workers and of novices. Outside the scope of his specific, circumscribed duties, he has made his influence felt in the great rangé of Wellcome enterprises in the history of medicine." There are few men who have, like him, served one and the same institution for more than forty years. Noéi Poynter was very young when, in 1930, he joined the Wellcome Library as an assistant librarian. And when, in 1954, almost a decade after the end of the war he became chief librarian he had not only published his first books, but prepared as well the publication of the famous catalogues of his library -the Incunabula were to come out that same year, 1954, the catalogue of Printed Books, vol. I, in 1962. A further achievement was the indispensable bibliography Current Work, 1954. His constancy of purpose in advancing towards ever increas-ing effectiveness can be seen in his editing the important British quarterly, Medical History, 1957, and when the International Academy ofthe History of Medicine was founded in 1962, Dr. Poynter was one ofthe twelve persons signing the founding document. When Clio Medica appeared in 1965, his name was alsó on the editorial board, and remained there unto his untimely death. The literary minded find it relatively easy to write new books provided they have imagination and a sense for new ideas linked to individual assiduity in the produc-tion of a scientific work. However, literary production has got to have a firm foothold in reality - you must know how to find the right people and choose the right way of action at the right time. Dr. Poynter's life was devoted to the library-and to relevant contacts.