A Pre–Civil War Maryland Doctor’s Book: Uncovering the Ownership Marks of Howard M. Duvall, M.D. The discovery of Dr. Howard Mareen Duvall’s personal ownership stamp together with his full handwritten signature inside a full leather ‑ bound copy of Elements of the Theory and Practice of Physic (1829) provides an unusually rich piece of provenance for this early nineteenth ‑ century medical volume. The book bears not only the ornate “ H. M. Duvall ” ownership mark but also the inked signature “ Howard M. Duvall, M.D. ” a pairing that firmly anchors the volume within the physician ’ s own working library at the very moment he completed his medical studies in August 1830. These inscriptions transform the book from a standard historical text into a direct artifact of Duvall ’ s intellectual formation, offering a rare glimpse into the reading habits, professional identity, and material culture of a young Maryland physician during the formative years of American medical education. ...