Simon Varey Papers Relating to Francisco Hernández, 1992-2003

ArchivalResource

Simon Varey Papers Relating to Francisco Hernández, 1992-2003

Simon Varey Papers Relating to Francisco Hernández, 1992-2003

http://www.oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt0d5nc67q

The collection consists of materials stemming from Simon Varey's Hernández research, which culminated in the editorship of two volumes: 1) "The Mexican Treasury; the Writings of Dr. Francisco Hernández" (English translations of some of Hernández's primary texts, and an unraveling of the complex history of the discovery and dissemination of his writings); 2) "Searching for the Secrets of Nature; the Life and Works of Dr. Francisco Hernández" (interpretive essays by various authors, edited with Rafael Chabrán and Dora B. Weiner). The eminent physician Francisco Hernández was sent to New Spain in 1570 by King Philip II of Spain as the first "protomédico de las Indias", to gather scientific descriptions of indigenous natural history and medical practices. Purchase by the UCLA Biomedical Library in 1992 of Hernández' "Thesaurus" ("Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus"), published in Rome in 1651, sparked wide scholarly interest in Hernández' life and work. Simon Varey joined a group of scholars at UCLA in the organization of a lecture series and two major conferences built around Hernández, and became a major force in the project to translate significant portions of the Hernández texts into English. The Varey papers include copies of 16th and 17th century texts, historical and contemporary commentaries, documents pertaining to New World natural history and the impact discoveries from the New World had on Europe, and extensive bibliographies and notes.

2 storage cartons,; 1 document box; (30 linear inches)

eng,

spa,

University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections Division