To find the right path in the ocean of historical books, we can turn to some catalogs of the most important examples of historical literature in medicine. The most respected for their thoroughness and historical value are seminal resources for researchers looking for rare and important medical books of the past. References to their records are often found in the reference departments of university libraries and specialized institutions and are often cited by booksellers of scientific and antiquarian books: Wellcome Historical Medical Library Catalogue; Garrison-Morton's Medical Bibliography; Hirsch's Biographisches Lexikon der hervorragenden Ärzte; Osler's Bibliotheca Osleriana; The Bibliotheca Walleriana; The Harvey Cushing Catalogue; Heirs of Hippocrates; Catalogue of the History of Medicine Collection in the National Library of Medicine.

Establishing the publication date of a medical trade catalogs is not always trivial. Many medical instrument manufacturers did without catalogs for many years – there was simply no need for them. Then, when the first trade catalogs of medical and surgical instruments appeared, they often omitted the date of their publications. There are several indications that can be used to determine the approximate year of publication of catalogs, which are discussed in this article.