Leeches have been used in medicine since ancient times, but it was during the 19th century, when bloodletting represented the nation’s premier medical theory, that leeches were employed by physicians on a massive scale. It is for this reason that the period was known as the time of “leechmania.”
Bloodletting is a dangerous practice involving the draining of a patient’s blood flow. It was believed that weakening the body through the reduction of blood flow treated a variety of disorders, especially fevers and inflammatory diseases. Medicinal leeches, bloodsucking aquatic worms with unusual mouth structures and special saliva that serves as both an anesthetic and anticoagulant, were used along with such surgical instruments as lancets and fleams to drain blood.
This fancy 19th-century display jar was used by a pharmacist to highlight his supply of medicinal leeches. Holes have been cut into the lid to allow for air, and the pharmacist stocked the jar with leeches intended for sale that day. The jar’s elaborate presentation indicates the high value leeches held as a commodity during this period, as they were sold in great numbers to members of both the medical profession and the public.
Bloodletting, often criticized during its time, quickly fell from favor due to the advent of new, more effective, medical techniques and understandings. Leeches are still occasionally used in modern medicine, although in a much different manner. Today they are primarily used in reattachment surgery and skin grafts.
Bookmark, George Washington. US Bicentennial Commemorative. Jacquard-woven compound weave with beige rayon warp with beige, red, blue, and gold rayon wefts. Design: portrait of George Washington, E Pluribus Unum, shield of stars and stripes. Eaglegraphs (Detroit, MI., Distributor); Brough, Nicholson & Hall (Cheadle, Staffordshire, England, Manufacturer). Jacquard woven bookmarks and pictures were both an expression of technical virtuosity for textile manufacturers and a popular novelty item for consumers.
Souvenir plate commemorating the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. Plate feautres a black, green, blue and white transfer print depiciting rhe Fair's Crystal Palace. It is marked: "THE BUILDING FOR THE GREAT EXHIBITION IN LONDON 1851 PROPOSED BY HRH PRINCE ALBERT...
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, or Great Exhibition, was held in England in 1851. Considered the first World's Fair, the exposition showcased international industrial advancements as well as artistic and cultural products.
25 countries, including the United States, participated in the event, popularly referred to as the The Crystal Palace Exhibition, after the immense (1,851 feet long, 128 feet high) glass and iron building constructed in London's Hyde Park to house over 14,000 exhibitors.
Between May and October 1851, The Great Exhibition attracted about 40,000 daily visitors, for a total of six million guests.
Following the conclusion of the Exhibition, the Crystal Palace was dismantled and relocated to another area of London whose environs were eventually renamed after the building. The palace was destroyed in a fire in 1936.
Souvenir plate commemorating the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. Plate feature a black green and white transfer print depicting the Fair's Crystal Palace. It is marked: THE BUILDING FOR THE GREAT EXHIBITION IN LONDON 1851 PROPOSED BY HRH PRINCE ALBERT....;
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, or Great Exhibition, was held in England in 1851. Considered the first World's Fair, the exposition showcased international industrial advancements as well as artistic and cultural products.
25 countries, including the United States, participated in the event, popularly referred to as the The Crystal Palace Exhibition, after the immense (1,851 feet long, 128 feet high) glass and iron building constructed in London's Hyde Park to house over 14,000 exhibitors.
Between May and October 1851, The Great Exhibition attracted about 40,000 daily visitors, for a total of six million guests.
Following the conclusion of the Exhibition, the Crystal Palace was dismantled and relocated to another area of London whose environs were eventually renamed after the building. The palace was destroyed in a fire in 1936.
