U. S. thoracic surgeon and rare book and manuscript collector. The Josiah C. Trent papers consist mostly of correspondence and notes for and drafts of published and unpublished research and articles. The collection also includes miscellaneous printed material, photographs, and lecture notes taken as a medical student. There is also material relating to Dr. Trent's death and the subsequent donation of his large private rare book and manuscript collection to the Duke Medical Center Library. The bulk of the material documents Dr. Trent's activities and publications as collector and historian of medical practice, particularly surgery and epidemiology. Most of the correspondence chronicles Dr. Trent's involvement with various professional organizations and his acquaintance with prominent figures in various fields: medical history - John Fulton, Henry Sigerist, W. W. Francis; book collecting - Henry Schuman; Duke University - Wilburt Davison, Lenox D. Baker. There is also some information concerning Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, Dr. Trent's wife. The collection also contains photographic prints and negatives reproducing medical illustrations and texts dating from the 16th century to the 20th century. These dates refer to the content of the images, rather than their date of creation by Dr. Trent in the 1930s and 1940s. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University.
