Leslie L. Wilkes, MD graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in 1965 and practiced orthopedic surgery in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Wilkes began collecting medical rare books, documents, and artifacts shortly after graduated from MCG.

Dr. Wilkes and his wife, Ge-Juan, have given many rare books, including William Hunter's Gravid Uterus, to the Robert B. Greenblatt, MD Library since 2013. The Wilkes Collection includes loose rare medical published prints and medical artifacts.

The most prominent artifact is a below the knee prosthesis made of wood, circa 1880-1900. Dr. Wilkes first noticed the prosthesis in the early 1960s in a Morven, Georgia store. The proprietor of the store turned down several offers from Wilkes to purchase the prosthesis. However, the store owner said he would give Wilkes the prosthesis once he finished medical school. Shortly after Wilkes graduated from MCG, the proprietor gave him the prosthesis as promised.

The second artifact is a meniscus knife that was developed and personally used by Professor Walter Mercer of the University of Edinburgh in the early 1940s. Before the introduction of endoscopic surgery, the meniscus knife was one of the special instruments developed to remove the meniscus tissue from the knee. Wilkes received this meniscus knife from Mr. Jimmy Scott, a friend, who had studied and worked with Prof. Mercer at Edinburgh.

At some time during Wilkes acquisitions of rare medical books, he acquired a Fowler & Wells phrenology bust. This plaster of Paris bust is labeled with the various mental faculties as assumed to be located in the brain. Along with the bust, Wilkes included the book The Practical Phrenologist.

The Wilkes Medical Artifact Collection is on display in the Historical Collections and Archives Room (AB-225) along with the rare books Dr. and Mrs. Wilkes have given the Greenblatt Library.

Dr. Leslie Wilkes passed away in Savannah on April 4, 2020.