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Fungus Among Us: How One Type of Mushroom Has Been a Medical Boon Since the 1700s

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– by Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

 

Welcome to #MedievalMedicineMonday! On Mondays, Patrick Magee, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate, will be exploring the depths of medieval botanical medicine as depicted by woodcuts found in our early printed books.

Although commonly held beliefs over medicine change quite a bit over time, one thing that’s certain is the ceaseless documentation of every turn of events within the medical world, from plague to poison. Medicinal science involves a lot of trial and error, and sometimes what seems like an inscrutable idea at first can become the backbone of treatment. In this series of posts on medically significant plants, we wanted to beg several questions – which plants do we still use? Which ended up being effectively snake oil? What was for health, and what was for fun? All of these questions and more will be addressed over time, starting in this case with a fungus.
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Patent Medicines and the History of Cocaine

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– by Charlie Dawson, Visitor Services/Gallery Associate

 

From the waning days of the golden age of patent medicine comes this advertisement for pharmaceutical cocaine. The ad was produced by CF Boehringer and Soehne, founded in 1885 Mannheim, Germany, but which soon expanded into New York. By the time of this ad’s publication in 1897, cocaine was available in New York only by prescription.  


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Ether in Surgery

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– by Josh Bicker, Visitor Services Floor Supervisor

 

A curious image from our Digital Image Library portrays two men, one of them lying on his back, with a ribbed, balloon like structure over his nose and mouth, as another man looks on, holding the balloon like structure on to his face. From the text around the image, we can tell this is Ormsby’s Inhaler, a variant of a number of different inhalers used at the time for administering Ether as an anesthesia for a patient undergoing surgery. This image is from a general anesthesia guide created by Henry Davis from 1892.

 

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Cartophily & The Early World of Cigarettes

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– by Josh Bicker, Visitor Services Floor Supervisor

 

The hobby of collecting trading cards has always been a popular pastime for many people. From trading cards of sports stars and pop stars, to collecting cards of characters from movies and popular TV shows, young and old have shown an interest in this hobby. The reason for collecting cards can vary. For some, it could just be an attractive piece of paper to look at, while for others it is a more serious form of collecting involving scrap books and getting appraisals for each card. Regardless of the reasons, collecting cards has been a pastime for many for a long time. Read more

Once for Yes, Twice for No: Examining Spiritualism in a Historical Medical Context

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For some, Fall is a time for cozy sweaters, stepping on crunchy leaves, and enjoying all things pumpkin spice. For others, the autumnal season also marks a thinning of the veil between the mortal and spiritual planes. Holidays like All Souls Day allow the living to remember and commune with the spirits of the departed. This presents a unique opportunity to examine a few of Historical Medical Library’s materials on the topic of Spiritualism, the 19th century movement that asserted spirits could communicate directly with the living through special tools or mediums. This small smattering of resources on Spiritualism provides an interesting opportunity to examine matters of the soul and Spiritualism through the lens of science and medicine. Read more

Not So Scary Skeletons: The Support System of the Human Body

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– by Kristen Pinkerton, Library Assistant

 

For the month of October, the theme the Historical Medical Library has chosen to highlight is skeletons. Skeletons are commonly viewed as creepy or associated with death and horror, particularly around Halloween. As a trained osteologist, however, I view them as a beautiful structure that supports the human form. This selected theme was an exciting chance for me to explore the fascinating materials we house regarding the human skeleton. While searching through our catalog I came across multiple monographs that piqued my interest. Read more