Freak Scene

Schoolchildren attending the funeral of a classmate in New York City, 1911. Photo courtesy of the Burns Archive.

You will almost certainly have seen images from the Burns Archive, most likely in books such as

. But the archive of Dr. Stanley Burns covers far more than forensics and violence. The New York-based ophthalmologist has dedicated his life to collecting photos from forgotten and undervalued genres. Now, after more than 30 years, he is sitting on a million of them and producing six books a year featuring some of the most astonishing medically and historically significant images you can imagine.

Vice: How did you end up with the world’s largest collection of vintage medical photography?

Dr. Stanley Burns:

What caused the shift from medical photography into criminal photography?

Do you ever find peculiar the fascination people have with images of death and crime?

You are an eye surgeon, but I take it this has become your major work?

Do these photos invade your home?

Are you desensitised to these images or are there some you still find hard to look at?

How have you built the collection?

How do you keep track of all these images?

What is the key to your collection?

No.

For more, visit burnsarchive.com