Health & Medicine

Iron Lung

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.

Place: Massachusetts

Hollis' Fluid Extract Cardamon & Ginger

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:A grateful stimulant and tonic; used freely in dyspepsia, flatulent colic, pain in the stomach, faintness, diarrhea, etc.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
A grateful stimulant and tonic; used freely in dyspepsia, flatulent colic, pain in the stomach, faintness, diarrhea, etc.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1890
maker
Thomas Hollis
ID Number
MG.M-10766 [dup17]
catalog number
M-10766
accession number
256193

Hollis' Jaundice Bitters

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:These bitters have been employed with uncommon advantage in jaundice, weakness of the stomach, and general debility.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
These bitters have been employed with uncommon advantage in jaundice, weakness of the stomach, and general debility. The effects are peculiarly invigorating on the stomach and bowels, and are beneficial in removing costiveness produced by weakness of the intestines; they strengthen the digestive organs, create an appetite and communicate vigor to the stomach, without producing head-ache, oppression, etc., which so many bitters usually bring on; they are gratefully aromatic, and mildly cathartic, and are particularly serviceable in removing urinal obstructions.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1862-1871
maker
Thomas Hollis
ID Number
MG.M-10757.001
catalog number
M-10757.001
accession number
256193

Lilas de France Borated Talcum Powder

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Federal Chemical Company
ID Number
MG.M-10766 [dup61]
catalog number
M-10763
accession number
256193

Greeley's Bourbon Bitters

[No indications or uses for this product are provided on its packaging.]Currently not on view
Description
[No indications or uses for this product are provided on its packaging.]
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1870
maker
W. F. Greeley
A. W. Greeley
ID Number
MG.M-10415.06
catalog number
M-10415
accession number
246707

Mrs. Dinsmore's Improved Balsamated Compound

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:For coughs, minor throat irritations, simple bronchitis, hoarseness. For affections of throat and air passages due to cold.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
For coughs, minor throat irritations, simple bronchitis, hoarseness. For affections of throat and air passages due to cold.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1932-1938
maker
L. M. Brock and Company
ID Number
MG.M-10766 [dup45]
catalog number
M-10766
accession number
256193

Patch's Old Fashioned Ginger Tea Tablets

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer, or as found in contemporary medical literature, are:For colds, chills, indigestion, etc.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer, or as found in contemporary medical literature, are:
For colds, chills, indigestion, etc.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
E. L. Patch Company
ID Number
MG.M-10257.43
catalog number
M-10257.43
accession number
241521

Rexall Healing Salve

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Efficient antiseptic dressing for cuts, burns, bruises, bites and stings of insects and an excellent emolient for stiff muscles and jointsCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Efficient antiseptic dressing for cuts, burns, bruises, bites and stings of insects and an excellent emolient for stiff muscles and joints
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1914
maker
United Drug Company
ID Number
MG.293320.1357
catalog number
293320.1357
accession number
293320

Ayer's Pills

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Purely vegetable catharticCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Purely vegetable cathartic
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1840
maker
Dr. J. C. Ayer and Company
ID Number
MG.293320.1163
catalog number
293320.1163
accession number
293320

Buckingham's Dye for the Whiskers

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
R. P. Hall & Company
ID Number
MG.M-10417.03
accession number
246707
catalog number
M-10417.03

Kennedy's Salt Rheum Ointment

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Cures salt rheum, scurvy sores, inflammatory piles, erysipelas sores, ulcers on the legs, lichen, frost bites, chilblains, burns and scalds, scald head, sore nipples, nursing sore mouth, ringworms, sore
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Cures salt rheum, scurvy sores, inflammatory piles, erysipelas sores, ulcers on the legs, lichen, frost bites, chilblains, burns and scalds, scald head, sore nipples, nursing sore mouth, ringworms, sore ears, earache, venemous bites, inflamed and sore eyes, chafing and galling on man or beast, and all skin diseases of a hot, itchy or imflammatory nature
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1900
maker
Donald Kennedy
ID Number
MG.293320.1220
catalog number
293320.1220
accession number
293320

Sheridan's Cavalry Condition Powder - for the Prevention and Cure Hog Cholera, Chicken Cholera, and Cattle Plague

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:For the cure of diseases of horse, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
For the cure of diseases of horse, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. This powder should be given in all cases of loss of appetite, roughness of hair, stoppage of bowels or water, coughs, colds, swelling of gland of throat, worms, horse-ail, hide-bound, hots and heaves. For the prevention and cure of cattle plague, in its various forms of southern cattle fever, anthrax, rinderpest, pleuro-pneumonia, etc., hog cholera, chicken cholera.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1885
maker
I. S. Johnson and Company
ID Number
MG.M-10768
catalog number
M-10768
accession number
256193

Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:A sure cure for prolapsis uteris or falling of the womb and all female weaknesses, including leucorrhoea, irregular and painful menstruation, inflammation and ulceration of the womb, flooding, diseases o
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
A sure cure for prolapsis uteris or falling of the womb and all female weaknesses, including leucorrhoea, irregular and painful menstruation, inflammation and ulceration of the womb, flooding, diseases of the kidneys. For all weakness of the generative organs of either sex, it is second to no remedy that has ever been before the public, and for all diseases of the kidneys it is the greatest remedy in the world.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1890
after 1873
maker
Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company
ID Number
MG.293320.1330
catalog number
293320.1330
accession number
293320

Father John's Medicine

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:A food medicine. A nutritive tonic.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
A food medicine. A nutritive tonic.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
after 1935
maker
Carleton and Hovey Company
ID Number
MG.293320.1213
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.1213

Violette De France Borated Talcum Powder

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Federal Chemical Company
ID Number
MG.M-10766 [dup60]
catalog number
M-10763
accession number
256193

Monaid Tablets

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:For the relief of painful menstruationCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
For the relief of painful menstruation
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
retailer
Sherman Pharmacy
maker
C. I. Hood and Company
ID Number
1985.0460.069
accession number
1985.0460
catalog number
1985.0460.069

Ayer's Hair Invigorator

Ayer’s Hair Invigorator was produced by the Ayer Company of Lowell, Mass. It contains capsicum, the same compound found in hot peppers. This was intended to stimulate the scalp.
Description
Ayer’s Hair Invigorator was produced by the Ayer Company of Lowell, Mass. It contains capsicum, the same compound found in hot peppers. This was intended to stimulate the scalp. The exact date of this product is not known, but it appears to be a modification of an early Ayer product, Hair Vigor. It probably dates to around 1920, after the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, which required labels to list a product’s alcohol content.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1984.0782.349
catalog number
1984.0782.349
accession number
1984.0782

Aviator-style Sunglasses

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
American Optical Company
ID Number
1984.0140.510
catalog number
1984.0140.510
accession number
1984.0140

Red Pills for Pale and Weak Women (Pilules Rouges)

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:For pale and weak women. An effective remedy for improving the blood, and the relief of anaemia and complicated diseases which follow anaemia, pecuilar to women.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
For pale and weak women. An effective remedy for improving the blood, and the relief of anaemia and complicated diseases which follow anaemia, pecuilar to women.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1906-1908
collection
Reid Drugstore
maker
France-American Chemical Company
ID Number
1984.0351.125
accession number
1984.0351
catalog number
1984.0351.125

Pheny O-Caffein

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Recommended in relieving sick and nervous headache, sciatica, myalgia, neuralgia, rheumatism, and lumbago. A sedative for nervousness and sleeplessness.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Recommended in relieving sick and nervous headache, sciatica, myalgia, neuralgia, rheumatism, and lumbago. A sedative for nervousness and sleeplessness. Allays feverishness, colds, and influenza.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1912
collection
Reid Drugstore
maker
Phenyo-Caffein Company
ID Number
1984.0351.112
accession number
1984.0351
catalog number
1984.0351.112

Hood's Vegetable Pills

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:A mild, efficient cathartic and after-dinner pill. To relieve sick headache and biliousness.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
A mild, efficient cathartic and after-dinner pill. To relieve sick headache and biliousness.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920s
collection
Reid Drugstore
maker
C.I. Hood and Company
ID Number
1984.0351.096
accession number
1984.0351
catalog number
1984.0351.096

Rexall Gypsy Cream

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Helps relieve discomfort of sunburn and superficial skin irritationsCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Helps relieve discomfort of sunburn and superficial skin irritations
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Rexall Drug Company
ID Number
1985.0481.069
catalog number
1985.0481.069
accession number
1985.0481

Toiletine

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Chapped hands, sunburn, and skin irritations. Use during and after shaving. Cuts, burns, and bruises. Coughs, colds, and hoarseness.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Chapped hands, sunburn, and skin irritations. Use during and after shaving. Cuts, burns, and bruises. Coughs, colds, and hoarseness.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1906
maker
Toiletine Company
ID Number
1984.0782.196
accession number
1984.0782
catalog number
1984.0782.196

Mellisda Tooth Powder

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Davies, Rose and Company
ID Number
1984.0782.230
catalog number
1984.0782.230
accession number
1984.0782

Wilbor's Mygda Balm

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:For chapped hands and face. For the hair. It removes dandruff, keeping the head clean and hair moists. Gentlemen after shaving will find this a soothing application for the face.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
For chapped hands and face. For the hair. It removes dandruff, keeping the head clean and hair moists. Gentlemen after shaving will find this a soothing application for the face.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
maker
William B. Hunt and Company
ID Number
1984.0782.212
catalog number
1984.0782.212
accession number
1984.0782

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