Skip to Main Content

History of Pediatrics: Premature Infants and Incubators

This guide is an overview of the Rubenstein Library's collections documenting the rich history of pediatrics.

Searching the catalog

These links are sample searches in the Duke Libraries catalog based on library subject headings related to the history of pediatrics and infant disease. You can limit by location to "Rubenstein Library" to focus on historical sources. 

Manuscript Collections

  • From the Evaporated Milk Association collection, 1924-1934, 1939-1967, organized by manufacturers in 1923 and which issued free publications promoting the use of evaporated milk throughout the United States. The materials include both pamphlets and booklets covering a wide range of themes -- all relating to evaporated milk and targeting potential consumers:

"The Care of Premature Infants" (reprint), 1932

  • From the News Service subject files, 1930-ongoing, which includes the Duke News Service’s efforts to inform the public and the university community about research, programs, and events at Duke; to increase public understanding and appreciation of scholarly contributions made by Duke's faculty and the work of its other employees and students; and to provide media relations and consultative services to faculty and administrators. Subject-related files created by the Duke University News Service containing clippings, speeches, photographs and reference material:

Premature Infant Care Program

Print Material

Advertisement for demonstration held at the 1895 Exposition de Bordeaux of Maternité Lion children's incubator.

The Lion incubator was the first incubator to automatically regulate temperature and airflow. It was invented by Alexandre Lion and patented in1889. Lion founded l'Oeuvre maternelle des couveuses d'enfants to promote the invention. The organization had storefronts in cities across France that displayed the incubators in-use and charged admittance in order to fund the care of the infants.

Budin and Stephane Tanier were obstetricians by training, but contributed to the field of pediatrics in various ways, including the design of an incubator.

Digitized Content

  • From the Medicine and Madison Avenue Collection, which contains about 600 advertising items and publications dating from 1850 to 1920, illustrating the rise of consumer culture and the birth of a professionalized advertising industry in the United States:

How "Humidicrib" Covers Of Du Pont "Lucite"

Advertisement from Dupont showing a baby pushing up during tummy time, with the text next to it that reads, "How 'Humidicrib' covers of Du Pont 'Lucite'". Below that is an image of medical staff looking down at an infant in a humidicrib.

This is what we work for at Parke-Davis