Health & Medicine

The Museum's collections of medical science artifacts represent nearly all aspects of health and medical practice. Highlights include early X-ray apparatuses, such as one of Wilhelm Roentgen's tubes, penicillin mold from Alexander Fleming’s experiments, and Jonas Salk's original polio vaccine. More recent acquisitions include the first artificial heart implanted in a human, the earliest genetically engineered drugs, and materials related to David, the "Bubble Boy." Other artifacts range from artificial limbs and implant devices to bloodletting and dental instruments, beauty products, and veterinary equipment. The contents of a medieval apothecary shop and an 1890s drugstore form part of the collections, along with patent and alternative medicines. The collections also document the many differing perspectives on health and medical issues, from patients, family members, doctors, nurses, medical students, and out-of-the-mainstream health practitioners.

Permissible gas mask for organic vapors, Type WIG G1, made by the Willson Products Division of The Electric Storage Battery Co., in Reading, Pa.Gile Johnson Willson (1824-1888) and his son, Thomas A. Willson (ca.
Description
Permissible gas mask for organic vapors, Type WIG G1, made by the Willson Products Division of The Electric Storage Battery Co., in Reading, Pa.
Gile Johnson Willson (1824-1888) and his son, Thomas A. Willson (ca. 1853-), both of Reading, Pa., began experimenting with optical glass in 1871, with the aim of making safety eyewear. T. A. Willson & Co. built a glass factory, hired workers from France and Belgium, and mounted an exhibit at the Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia in 1876. The firm became Willson Goggles, Inc. in 1913, and later Willson Products. By 1966, the firm had become a Division of The Electric Storage Battery Co. The factory in Reading closed in May 2002.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
After 1966
ID Number
2017.0184.033
catalog number
2017.0184.033
accession number
2017.0184
Toothbrush shared by astronauts Col. Frank Borman and Capt. Jim Lovell in 1965 on their rendezvous flight with Gemini 6-A.Currently not on view
Description
Toothbrush shared by astronauts Col. Frank Borman and Capt. Jim Lovell in 1965 on their rendezvous flight with Gemini 6-A.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca.1965
ID Number
MG.M-14770
catalog number
M-14770
accession number
300968
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960-1962
maker
Lever Brothers Company
ID Number
1986.0734.01
accession number
1986.0734
catalog number
1986.0734.01
Two cylinders of dental floss in a cardboard box. The inscription on one side of the box reads “Butler / RIGHT KIND / UnWaxed Dental Floss / For Personal Oral Hygiene / John O. Butler Co. / Chicago, Ill. 60611 / Printed in U.S.A.
Description
Two cylinders of dental floss in a cardboard box. The inscription on one side of the box reads “Butler / RIGHT KIND / UnWaxed Dental Floss / For Personal Oral Hygiene / John O. Butler Co. / Chicago, Ill. 60611 / Printed in U.S.A. Made in U.S.A.” That on another side adds “Conforming to the Optimum Characteristics / of Dental Floss for Personal Oral Hygiene / as specified by Dr. C. C. Bass / For Personal Oral Hygiene.”
John O. Butler (1873-1973) was a Chicago dentist who, in 1923, established the John O. Butler Company, a firm that manufactured sundry oral-care products. Charles C. Bass (1875-1975) was a physician on the faculty of the Tulane University Medical School. Zip codes were introduced on July 1, 1963.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1963
maker
John O. Butler Company
ID Number
1993.0107.199
catalog number
1993.0107.199
accession number
1993.0107
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955-1960
maker
Guerlain
ID Number
2009.3030.37
catalog number
2009.3030.37
nonaccession number
2009.3030
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
product launch date (Derringer spray)
1963
product line launched (Fleur de Rocailles)
1933
maker
Caron
ID Number
2009.3030.31
nonaccession number
2009.3030
catalog number
2009.3030.31
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958 - 1960
maker
Colgate-Palmolive Company
ID Number
1988.0717.21
catalog number
1988.0717.21
accession number
1988.0717
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1955-1960
maker
Cot-N-Chips Company
ID Number
1985.0481.036
catalog number
1985.0481.36
accession number
1985.0481
1985.0481
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1961
maker
Wilbur Fenelon Young Incorporation
ID Number
1979.1144.054
accession number
1979.1144
catalog number
1979.1144.054
A ca 1968 print of a 1966 photograph documenting the vaccination of Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman's daughter, Kirsten Jeanne Hilleman, with the investigational Jeryl Lynn strain mumps vaccine.
Description (Brief)
A ca 1968 print of a 1966 photograph documenting the vaccination of Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman's daughter, Kirsten Jeanne Hilleman, with the investigational Jeryl Lynn strain mumps vaccine. Eight-year-old Jeryl Lynn Hilleman, for whom the strain is named, comforts her younger sister as Dr. Robert E. Weibel gives Kirsten the injection. The pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme widely distributed this photograph in 1968 as part of their press release and promotion for the Mumpsvax vaccine. This photograph does not have handwritten notations on the back.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1966
ID Number
2017.3081.04
catalog number
2017.3081.04
nonaccession number
2017.3081
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
Shulton Inc. Tecnique Division
ID Number
1993.0024.50
accession number
1993.0024
catalog number
1993.0024.50
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968-10-09
ID Number
1977.0117.39
accession number
1977.0117
catalog number
1977.0117.39
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
Becton, Dickinson and Company
ID Number
1985.0475.812
accession number
1985.0475
catalog number
1985.0475.812
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
expiration date
1965-03-30
maker
National Drug Company
Richardson-Merrell, Inc
ID Number
1981.0170.011
accession number
1981.0170
catalog number
1981.0170.011
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Ardena Skin Lotion is a very gentle, mild astringent, to help tone, clear, and firm the skin.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Ardena Skin Lotion is a very gentle, mild astringent, to help tone, clear, and firm the skin.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Elizabeth Arden Inc.
ID Number
2009.3030.05
nonaccession number
2009.3030
catalog number
2009.3030.05
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
product line launched (Fleur de Rocailles)
1933
maker
Caron
ID Number
2009.3030.33
nonaccession number
2009.3030
catalog number
2009.3030.33
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
copyright date
1965
maker
Clairol
ID Number
1985.0475.186
accession number
1985.0475
catalog number
1985.0475.186
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
Product expiration date
1965-08-15
maker
National Drug Company
Richardson-Merrell, Inc
ID Number
1981.0170.003
accession number
1981.0170
catalog number
1981.0170.003
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1968
expiration date
1968-05-09
ID Number
2017.0193.09
catalog number
2017.0193.09
accession number
2017.0193
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1962
maker
Charles Pfizer and Company
ID Number
MG.M-10018
accession number
239425
catalog number
M-10018
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-06
maker
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
ID Number
1982.0043.042B
catalog number
1982.0043.042B
accession number
1982.0043
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer, or as found in contemporary medical literature, are:For use in asthma, pertussis, urticaria [hives], shock, collapse, poisoning by narcotics, rhinitis and sinusitis [The Merck Index, Fifth Edition, 1940]Cur
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer, or as found in contemporary medical literature, are:
For use in asthma, pertussis, urticaria [hives], shock, collapse, poisoning by narcotics, rhinitis and sinusitis [The Merck Index, Fifth Edition, 1940]
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930-1960
maker
Premo Pharmaceutical Laboratories
ID Number
1980.0076.069
accession number
1980.0076
catalog number
1980.0076.069
date made
ca 1962
maker
Charles Pfizer and Company
ID Number
MG.M-10017
accession number
239425
catalog number
M-10017
This 64 oz capacity, blow-molded plastic bottle was used by Connaught Labs in Toronto and is of the sort used to store Salk and Sabine polio vaccine concentates.
Description
This 64 oz capacity, blow-molded plastic bottle was used by Connaught Labs in Toronto and is of the sort used to store Salk and Sabine polio vaccine concentates. The inscription on the blue plastic screw cap reads “NALGENE / ½ GALLON.” Plastic bottles of this sort were introduced to market in 1965. They were less likely to break than glass bottles, and so lowered cost of vaccines and medicines.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960s
maker
Nalge Sybron Corporation
ID Number
1989.0452.04
catalog number
1989.0452.04
accession number
1989.0452

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