“I‘m about to embark on the ultimate goal of my lifetime. It’s such an incredible opportunity that I’m almost tongue-tied. Tongue-tied, that’s funny. If I were actually tongue-tied, I would no doubt fit into my position on yet another level. Let me explain further.
My name is Henry Aloysius Caldwell, the Third. I’m third in line to inherit all that my grandfather Henry Aloysius Caldwell left to his heirs. Which, even I admit, is considerable. I have amassed a small fortune myself. And so, my grandfather’s inheritance, although a tidy sum, is not something I need or necessarily even desire. But what he has left to me and me only is the opportunity of a lifetime.
Mutter Museum skull collection
The first time I entered the hallowed halls of the Mutter Museum and Library, I was about thirteen years old. Mutter Museum’s location is at 19 South 22nd Street in Philadelphia, Pa. The Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia was donated by a surgeon Thomas Dent Mütter who was hell-bent on improving and reforming medical education. Mütter made it clear that by accepting his donation of 1,700 objects and $30,000, the College is required to hire a curator, maintain and expand the collection, fund annual lectures, and erect a fireproof building to house the collection.
What collection, you ask? Well, I was just about to explain just that. Basically, the museum is dedicated to the study of human anatomy. The collection includes both normal and abnormal specimens. They’re stored as wet and dry specimens. But, my area of “interest” is the anomalies. Some have called it an obsession, but I, well, I call it passion.
Conjoined twins plaster case- Mutter Museum
Why do you ask? Well, it is merely this. I’m an anomaly. Oh, you don’t see anything about me that is odd or peculiar? Some differences are not apparent to the human eye. I may look normal enough at first blush. But I’m attracted to all things different, strange, off the wall, bizarre, weird and eccentric, and unusual. I’m a collector of sorts too.
And since I have the resources, I have spent the entirety of my adult life collecting. I have traveled every nook and cranny of the earth, no matter how remote. I have collected human oddities, not living ones. But those who have passed from this mortal coil. Their final contribution being their human remains. And their families are generously compensated for their contributions. And their hope is at least they will contribute to preventing future generations from suffering the same fate as their loved ones.
As I was saying and I hope you will forgive my slight transgression. I tend to go off track. It is one of my little foibles. The first time I visited the Mutter, as I fondly call it, I was about thirteen. And upon entering this bastion of knowledge, I was utterly transfixed. It was as if I had died and gone to heaven. My grandfather brought me there as a surprise for my 13th birthday. He considered age thirteen to be the age when a boy becomes a man. And he knew only too well my love of all things otherworldly, offbeat, strange, alien even.
So, there I was on the precipice of becoming a man. Then I walked through those doors into my version of nirvana. The building from the outside seems small but somehow impressive, carved in stone.
As I stepped inside the exhibition room, I was confronted by a wall. And on that wall were cabinets with glass doors, and within those beautiful Victorian cabinets were human skulls. I was transfixed. Each skull had a description of who the person was, whose head now inhabited the shelf. I read each and every classification. I stepped back from the skulls and took them all in. In my mind, it was the most beautiful sight I had ever beheld. A powerful image that remained in my memory from that moment until this moment.
The next exhibit was so incredible I found it challenging to find the words to describe it. A physician whose name was Chevalier Jackson was a well-known and respected otolaryngologist. This is a fancy name for a doctor who specializes in ear, nose, and throat problems. He developed methods and tools for removing foreign objects from human airways. Jackson’s collection includes 2,374 inhaled or ingested foreign bodies that were extracted from patients’ throats, esophagi, and lungs during his almost 75-year-long career.
Most of the items are on display. Can you imagine having the compulsion to swallow objects that are not meant to be digested? I saw objects such as buttons, pins, nuts, coins, bones, screws, dentures and bridges, and small toys, among many other items. Can you picture it? How fascinating. Not just the fact that people had the compulsion to swallow these indigestible tidbits but the fact that Dr. Jackson was driven to spend his life keeping painstakingly keeping records of not just the patient but each object that was swallowed. And here it is now for all to see.
And this will blow your mind, just as it blew mine. The Mutter has dissected sections of Einstein’s brain. They studied his brain to try and discover why Einstein’s brain was so advanced. It was found that they were unable to find anything out of the ordinary about his brain. In fact, they discovered his brain was slightly small than the average brain. And yet, he was one of the most brilliant men known up to that time. It goes to show that humans and how our individual brain works is still a mystery.
During my first visit to Mutter with my grandfather, I experienced a revelation. And that was that I could create a life for myself that was both satisfying and engaged my curiosity about people and their inner workings. And that I different as I was from everyone, I ever knew that I could contribute to the world, to science, and to humankind. And in that way, I would not be considered a weirdo or outcast. I would be accepted as “normal.”
And from that moment, I dedicated my life to understanding the true nature of man. I have come to realize that we are all more similar than different. We all have gifts that can benefit the world.
And so here I am, opening these grand old doors at Mutter and embracing the life that I have long dreamed of as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Mutter Museum. Who knows what mysteries will unfold as we hold back the fabric of time. And discover all the secrets of humanity as yet unknown? Please come in, won’t you?