The Case of Oceola’s Missing Head
The Valentine Mott Museum
Valentine Mott collected surgical and pathological specimens. His museum, which was located at the University Medical College in New York, was composed mainly of pathological specimens from surgical operations, collected in part from his students, who submitted dissections through an annual competition. In 1858, he declared that his collection was “believed to be the largest that any American surgeon had the occasion to form.” In his catalog he lists under Miscellaneous, item number 1132, Head of Osceola.
