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.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950s
maker
Lever Brothers Company
ID Number
1981.0219.037
accession number
1981.0219
catalog number
1981.0219.037
Cardboard box with inscriptions that read “Sensodyne / TOOTHPASTE FOR SENSITIVE TEETH / Recommended by Dentists for Sensitive Teeth / Sensitive teeth relief / in a mint flavor” and “FROM / BLOCK DRUG COMPANY, INC.
Description
Cardboard box with inscriptions that read “Sensodyne / TOOTHPASTE FOR SENSITIVE TEETH / Recommended by Dentists for Sensitive Teeth / Sensitive teeth relief / in a mint flavor” and “FROM / BLOCK DRUG COMPANY, INC. / JERSEY CITY, NJ 07302.” The Block Drug Company was established in Brooklyn in 1907 and relocated to Jersey City in 1938. It applied for a trademark on the term Sensodyne in 1960.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Block Drug Company
ID Number
1993.0107.026
catalog number
1993.0107.026
accession number
1993.0107
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
ID Number
1993.0107.030
catalog number
1993.0107.030
accession number
1993.0107
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Beecham Products
ID Number
1993.0107.029
catalog number
1993.0107.029
accession number
1993.0107
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1993.0107.194
catalog number
1993.0107.194
accession number
1993.0107
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1958-1970
product launched
1958
maker
Colgate-Palmolive Company
ID Number
1985.0475.264
catalog number
1985.0475.264
accession number
1985.0475
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
S. S. White Manufacturing Company
ID Number
2012.0165.496
accession number
2012.0165
catalog number
2012.0165.496
Tube of Sensodyne toothpaste for sensitive teeth. The Block Drug Company, of Jersey City, N.J., applied for a trademark on the term Sensodyne in 1960.Currently not on view
Description
Tube of Sensodyne toothpaste for sensitive teeth. The Block Drug Company, of Jersey City, N.J., applied for a trademark on the term Sensodyne in 1960.
Location
Currently not on view
distributor
Block Drug Company
ID Number
1988.0717.49
catalog number
1988.0717.49
accession number
1988.0717
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
date made
after 1920
maker
C. H. Strong and Company
ID Number
1979.0798.239
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.239
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Penwalt Corporation. S.S. White Dental Health Products
ID Number
1981.0752.02
accession number
1981.0752
catalog number
1981.0752.02
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1953
maker
Colgate-Palmolive Company
ID Number
1982.0003.03
accession number
1982.0003
catalog number
1982.0003.03
An inscription on the cardboard case reads in part “THE PEERLESS / DENTIFRICE / A Delightful, Wholesome, and Efficient / Toilet Article. / TRADE-MARK / ORALINE PASTE / Registered Feb. 7, 1899. / PREPARED BY / The S. S. White / Dental Manufacturing Co.
Description
An inscription on the cardboard case reads in part “THE PEERLESS / DENTIFRICE / A Delightful, Wholesome, and Efficient / Toilet Article. / TRADE-MARK / ORALINE PASTE / Registered Feb. 7, 1899. / PREPARED BY / The S. S. White / Dental Manufacturing Co. / Chestnut Street, Corner of Twelfth / PHILADELPHIA.”
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Penwalt Corporation. S.S. White Dental Health Products
ID Number
1981.0752.01
accession number
1981.0752
catalog number
1981.0752.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Penwalt Corporation. S.S. White Dental Health Products
ID Number
1981.0752.03
accession number
1981.0752
catalog number
1981.0752.03
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Penwalt Corporation. S.S. White Dental Health Products
ID Number
1981.0752.04
accession number
1981.0752
catalog number
1981.0752.04
The inscription on the cardboard case reads “Dr.
Description
The inscription on the cardboard case reads “Dr. Blumers / DENTONE / A / SUPERIOR / TOOTH / PASTE / MAKES / WHITE / TEETH / ITS USE / INSURES / A CLEAN / PURE / MOUTH / LINCOLN CHEMICAL WORKS / CHICAGO.” Robert Blumer (1854-1946), who may have been an immigrant from Germany or Switzerland, established the Robert Blumer Laboratory, on Lincoln Ave., in Chicago. By 1924, now trading as the Lincoln Chemical Works, the firm was manufacturing patent medicines, ointments, pills, tonics, and such.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Lincoln Chemical Works
ID Number
1982.0030.02
accession number
1982.0030
catalog number
1982.0030.02
The inscription on the lid of this tin reads “PURIFIED / CHARCOAL TOOTH PASTE / For cleansing the teeth / and gums and purifying the breath. / PREPARED BY / X. BAZIN / PERFUMER / PHILADELPHIA.” Xavier Bazin established a soap a perfumery business in Philadelphia.
Description
The inscription on the lid of this tin reads “PURIFIED / CHARCOAL TOOTH PASTE / For cleansing the teeth / and gums and purifying the breath. / PREPARED BY / X. BAZIN / PERFUMER / PHILADELPHIA.” Xavier Bazin established a soap a perfumery business in Philadelphia. The firm became X. Bazin & Co. in 1875.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Hall & Ruckel
ID Number
MG.293320.0985
accession number
293320
catalog number
MG*293320.0985
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1981.0219.041
accession number
1981.0219
catalog number
1981.0219.041
Glass bottle with paper label that reads “NET WT. 6 OUNCES / DR. WEST’S / BRAND / Vray / FOR THE TEETH / SHAKE SHARPLY / Before Using First Time / WECO PRODUCTS CO. CHICAGO, U.S.A.
Description
Glass bottle with paper label that reads “NET WT. 6 OUNCES / DR. WEST’S / BRAND / Vray / FOR THE TEETH / SHAKE SHARPLY / Before Using First Time / WECO PRODUCTS CO. CHICAGO, U.S.A. / PRINTED IN U.S.A.” This product, which was “not a paste, powder, or liquid, but an emulsion,” was on the market by 1941.
Location
Currently not on view
collection
Reid Drugstore
maker
Weco Products co.
ID Number
1984.0351.141
accession number
1984.0351
catalog number
1984.0351.141
Tube of Sensodyne toothpaste for sensitive teeth. The Block Drug Company, of Jersey City, N.J., applied for a trademark on the term Sensodyne in 1960. The “U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,006” inscription on this tube refers to Milton Hodosh, “Method for Desensitizing Teeth,” U.S.
Description
Tube of Sensodyne toothpaste for sensitive teeth. The Block Drug Company, of Jersey City, N.J., applied for a trademark on the term Sensodyne in 1960. The “U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,006” inscription on this tube refers to Milton Hodosh, “Method for Desensitizing Teeth,” U.S. Patent 3,863,006 (Jan. 28, 1975). Milton Hodosh (1926-2009) was a graduate of Brown University and the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and a pioneer in the field of dental implants.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1993.0107.028
catalog number
1993.0107.028
accession number
1993.0107
The inscription on the metal tube reads “SOZODONT / Tooth / PASTE / TRADE MARK / HALL & RUCKEL / NEW YORK.” That on the cardboard box reads in part “SOZODONT / TOOTH / PASTE / 25 CENT SIZE / HALL & RUCKEL / NEW YORK.” Roswell van Buskirk (c.
Description
The inscription on the metal tube reads “SOZODONT / Tooth / PASTE / TRADE MARK / HALL & RUCKEL / NEW YORK.” That on the cardboard box reads in part “SOZODONT / TOOTH / PASTE / 25 CENT SIZE / HALL & RUCKEL / NEW YORK.” Roswell van Buskirk (c. 1824–1902), a druggist in New Jersey, created Sozodont in 1859. The name derived from the Greek sozo, meaning "to save", and dontia, meaning "teeth". By 1864, Sozodont tooth powder could be had from Hall & Ruckel, a wholesale druggist firm in New York. Sozodont tooth paste originated in the early twentieth century.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Hall & Ruckel
ID Number
MG.293320.0997
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.0975
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:For use to whiten and beautify the teeth and sterilize the mouth; it imparts a most delightful perfume to the breath.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
For use to whiten and beautify the teeth and sterilize the mouth; it imparts a most delightful perfume to the breath.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
C. H. Strong and Company
ID Number
MG.302607.158
catalog number
302607.158
accession number
302607
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Shaklee Corporation
ID Number
1983.0114.14
catalog number
1983.0114.14
accession number
1983.0114
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950s
maker
Colgate-Palmolive Company
ID Number
1981.0219.044
accession number
1981.0219
catalog number
1981.0219.044

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