He started the medical museum quite innocently. “My wife and I have always liked antiques and I always admired apothecary chests, so I bought one that had been finished off with a couple shelves on the top,” he says. Looking for some medical pieces to put on the shelves, he bought some old medicine bottles and one thing led to another and the collection has since grown to more than 1,000 pieces and over 500 rare books. Blaufox attributes part of the interest in collecting to his father. “He used to bring home old books – I still have a 1904 Webster dictionary from him,” he says.

The collecting led to the founding of the Medical Collector’s Association, of which he was the president.


Next step
With a list of awards and accomplishments literally spanning pages, Blaufox has little left to prove, but still much to offer. He plans to take a step back from full-time practice, but is planning to move into consulting roles as opportunities arise. He’s also planning to sell off some of his collection to clear up some space at home. In the meantime, some items from his collection will be on display during the New York Blood Bank’s anniversary celebration.

The plan is to cut his overall work load to about 20 hours a week, because as he says, “If you work more than 20 hours a week, you’re not retired.”

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