Argos. Bulletin van het Veterinair Historisch Genootschap, nr. 63 (2020), p. 96-105

In 1865 the students of the Utrecht veterinary school established the Veterinary Students Association ‘Absyrtus’. In order to further improve the community spirit they published a Veterinary Almanac from 1887 onwards. The contents included calendars, annual reports, lists of all Dutch veterinarians active in the country and the colonies, biographies of professors, poems, and cartoons. The most interesting parts of the almanac were the anonymous comments about education and about the professors. The students proved to be rather critical in this respect. These comments also provide an insight into the professional ambitions and ideals of the students. When the Veterinary School was incorporated as a faculty into Utrecht State University in 1925, Absyrtus was disbanded. A new veterinary students association was started in 1932 and it lasted until 1979, when the association began publishing an almanac again. Apart from the large galleries of portrait of all students, in the new series of the Veterinary Almanac are found the annual speeches of the presidents. These are interesting from the historical point of view because they show how the student population responded to changes in the veterinary field, the curriculum, contacts with the faculty administration, and the veterinary professional association.

De basis van de collectie werd gelegd door de Groningse dierenarts Hendrik Croes (1858-1948). In 1954 werd het 'Museum Diergeneeskunde' als een nieuwe afdeling van het Utrechts Universiteitsmuseum geopend

De boeken in de veterinaire collectie van de Universiteitsbibliotheek weerspiegelen de verschillende fasen van de verwetenschappelijking en professionalisering van de paardengeneeskunde. In deze bijdrage worden enkele voorbeelden hiervan gegeven