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Simon Varey Papers Relating to Francisco Hernández 1992-2003
87
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Title: Simon Varey Papers Relating to Francisco Hernández,
Date (inclusive): 1992-2003
Collection number: 87
Creator: Varey, Simon 1951-2002
Extent:
2 storage cartons,
1 document box
(30 linear inches)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections
Division
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: 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.
Physical location: Collection stored off-site (Southern Regional
Library Facility): Advance notice required for access.
Language of Material: Collection materials in English, Spanish,
Nahuatl
The collection is open for research. Contact the History and Special
Collections Division, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, UCLA, for
information.
Conditions of Use
Publication Rights
[Identification of item], Simon Varey papers relating to Francisco Hernández (Manuscript collection 87). Louise M. Darling
Biomedical Library History and Special Collections Division, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
5794894
The papers were a gift of Mr. Varey's wife, Carol A. Sommer, to the UCLA
Biomedical Library History and Special Collections Division.
Simon Varey (1951-2002) excelled as teacher, writer, scholar, critic, editor,
and great cook. He served for sixteen years as tutor, instructor, and professor
of English at Cambridge University, the University of Utrecht, and at UCLA,
publishing well-received works on Viscount Bolingbroke, Henry Fielding, and the
18th-century English novel. In 1990 he joined the UCLA Center for Medieval and
Renaissance Studies. In 1992, occasioned by the 500th anniversary of Columbus'
arrival in the New World, the UCLA Biomedical Library History and Special
Collections Division bought the 1651 Rome edition of the writings of Francisco
Hernández, a 16th century Spanish physician who was sent by Philip II to
collect and report on the medical knowledge of the New World. This acquisition
sparked Dr. Varey's and many other scholars' interest in Hernández' life
and works, and led to a yearlong lecture series on "Medicine in the Age of
Columbus," two conferences on "The Meeting of Two Cultures" at the National
Library of Medicine in Bethesda and at UCLA, and the resolve to translate and
publish parts of the Hernández texts into English, which had never been
done.
With funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities and other donors,
and sponsorship by the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, two volumes
were published by Stanford University Press in 2000: "Searching for the Secrets
of Nature: the Life and Works of Dr. Francisco Hernández," and "The
Mexican Treasury: The Writings of Dr. Francisco Hernández." Simon Varey,
with Rafael Chabrán and Dora Weiner, served as editor of both volumes,
wrote several chapters, translated some of the original texts, and contributed
an enormous amount of scholarly research towards unraveling the complicated
history of Hernández's work and its dissemination.
In 1996 Varey shifted to the Development Office of the UCLA College of
Letters and Science, and in 2000 be became Director of Grant Development of the
California Science Center. His involvement in the scholarship of the 18th
century continued during this time; he undertook various editorial assignments
for the "Scriblerian", an English literary history journal, ending with becoming
its co-editor.
The Simon Varey Hernández Project papers cover two areas: 1)
management of the Project and creation of its final product, "The Mexican
Treasury" and "Searching for the Secrets of Nature", both volumes edited by
Varey and others; and 2) research materials needed to create and edit the
content of these volumes, namely notes, lists, correspondence, copies of
manuscripts and articles, chapters, illustrations. The collection includes paper
documents and computer disks which duplicate partially, but mostly complement
each other.
The management portion constitutes circa 10% of the collection bulk, with
materials generated within one decade, 1991-2001. (Additional information on the
Project may be held in the archives of the UCLA Center for Medieval and
Renaissance Studies.) Except for a miniscule number of personal and
miscellaneous items, the rest of the collection consists of the research
materials generated by Varey (and Chabrán) as they worked to unravel the
immensely complicated story of Hernández's writings and their
dissemination. The documents of this portion date from the 1570's to late
1990's.
The collection consists of 101 folder, organized into 13 series and numerous
subseries. Varey's chapter arrangement in "The Mexican Treasury" was adopted for
organizing the documents dealing with Hernández texts.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Francisco Hernández Project Management, 1991-2001. 11 folders
- Series 2. Chronology and Publishing History of Hernández Texts: Mexico, 1571-1615. 18 folders
- Series 3. Chronology and Publishing History of Hernández Texts: The Low Countries, 1630-1648. 12 folders and 1 microfilm
- Series 4. Chronology and Publishing History of Hernández Texts: Italy, 16th-17th cent.. 9 folders and 1 microfilm
- Series 5. Chronology and Publishing History of Hernández Texts: England, 17th cent.. 9 folders
- Series 6. Chronology and Publishing History of Hernández Texts: Spain, 18th, 20th cent.. 4 folders
- Series 7. Commentaries on Hernández' s Works and Influence, 18th-20th cent.. 2 folders
- Series 8. Medicine and Medicinal Plants in the New World, 16th-20th cent.. 15 folders
- Series 9. Medicine and Medicinal Plants in the Old World, 20th cent.. 3 folders
- Series 10. General Botany, 20th cent.. 3 folders
- Series 11. General History (Science, Politics, Culture) of the New World, 20th cent.. 4 folders
- Series 12. General History (Science, Politics, Culture) of the Old World, 20th cent.. 7 folders
- Series 13. Miscellaneous Materials, 20th cent.. 4 folders and 14 computer disks
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Hernaìndez,
Francisco, |d 1517-1587.
Varey, Simon,
1951-2002
Materia
Medica-history-Mexico.
Natural history-Mexico- Pre-Linnean
works.