Items

Title: Hanson's Magic Corn Salve
Description: Trade card advertising Hanson's Magic Corn Salve featuring a man in a three-piece suit holding a bouquet of flowers. His mustache is pointed at the ends, and he is framed by flowers that resemble Morning Glories. The back warns customers against counterfeit products.
Conditions Cured (LC): Bunion
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Bouquets, Clothes And Dress, Costume, Eyeglasses, Flowers, Mustaches
ID: WH271
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
Description: Trade card advertising Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, Lydia E. Pinkham's Liver Pills, Lydia E. Pinkham's Blood Purifier, and Lydia E. Pinkham's Sanative Wash featuring a square image of a sailboat in profile with a shadowed fleet behind it. The foregrounded boat has a red flag at the tip of its mast. The square image is framed by overlaid leaves and red, white, blue, and purple flowers. The back describes the ailments the items can cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Backache, Constipation, Depression, Headache, Indigestion, Inflammation, Insomnia, Neurasthenia, Peptic Ulcer, Tumors
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Boats And Boating, Flowers, Nature, Ocean, Sailboats, Water
ID: WH327
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dr. Thomas' Eclectric Oil: Mary Anderson
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. Thomas' Eclectric Oil featuring a portrait of a young woman. She is formally dressed in a gown with long gloves. She is wearing a hat that reads: "Dr. Thomas' Eclectric Oil" and has a feather in it. The back lists the ailments the Oil has cured.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthma, Backache, Bronchitis, Burns And Scalds, Catarrh, Cough, Croup, Deafness, Diphtheria, Earache, Edema, Frostbite, Neuralgia, Rheumatism, Throat—Diseases, Toothache
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Costume, Ethnic Costume, Hats, Portraits, Women
ID: WH366
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dr. Mettaur's Headache Pills
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. Mettaur's Headache Pills featuring a young girl who seems to be praying on a bed. She is barefoot and wearing a nightgown. There is a pillow by her knees. The back has testimony from satisfied customers.
Conditions Cured (LC): Headache
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Children, Children—Prayers And Devotions, Pillows, Portraits
ID: WH303
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Hood's Sarsaparilla Purifies the blood, creates an appetite, makes the weak strong, and builds up the system
Description: Trade card advertising Hood's Sarsaparilla featuring a cupid-like boy with small wings and a blue garment around his waist. He is marching while playing a golden horn and holding a yellow box of Hood's Sarsaparilla. The back lists the health benefits of blood purification, as well as the ingredients in Hood's Sarsaparilla.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Body Fluids, Constipation, Furuncle, Headache, Indigestion, Salt Rheum, Scrofula, Syphilis
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Angels, Cherubs, Folklore, Musical Instruments, Mythology
ID: WH143
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Catarrh, Neuralgia & Headache No More! Cushman's Menthol Inhaler Cures Diseases of the Head Including Hay-Fever, Colds & Bronchitis
Description: Trade card advertising Cushman's Menthol Inhaler featuring a young woman using the inhaler. She is wearing a feathered hat and a long-sleeved shirt or dress with ruffled sleeves, a bodice, and a wrapped garment around her bosom and neck. The back explains what the inhaler is, its price, and has an illustration of a woman looking over her back, right shoulder at the buyer while using the inhaler. The card is tinted blue-green.
Conditions Cured (LC): Bronchitis, Catarrh, Cold (Disease), Hay Fever, Headache, Neuralgia
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Inhalers, Portraits, Women's Clothing, Women's Hats
ID: WH135
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Buy it, Try it, and be Happy! Morse's Dyspepsia Cure, Holliston, Mass.
Description: Trade card advertising Morse's Dyspepsia Cure featuring an image of a lighthouse and a sailing ship in choppy waters. Text at bottom reads "Eddy Stone Light House." The back lists ailments that Morse's Dyspepsia Cure helps.
Conditions Cured (LC): Biliary Tract—Diseases, Constipation, Headache, Heartburn, Indigestion, Palpitation
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Boats And Boating, Lighthouses, Sailboats, Sailing Ships, Water Waves
ID: WH177
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: The Genuine Dr. C. McLane's Liver Pills are a Sure Cure for Sick Headache
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. C. McLane's Liver Pills featuring a circular image of a small house in a wintry landscape. Spilling out of the circular frame are trees, some grasses, and a fence. Behind the circle is a cross-shaped pattern of blue and grey. The back has testimony from a satisfied customer.
Conditions Cured (LC): Headache
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Housing, Nature, Snow, Trees, Wooden Fences
ID: WH298
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dundas Dick & Co's Compliments
Description: Trade card advertising the tasteless medicines of Dundas Dick & Co. featuring a wood-framed square that reads "Dundas Dick & Co.'s Compliments" surrounded by autumnal leaves and berries. The square is labelled "1776" and "1876" on the top and bottom, respectively. The back features a nineteenth-century calendar.
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Berries, Leaves, Nature, Picture Frames And Framing, Wood
ID: WH260
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Our Boy: Compliments of Scott & Bowne Manufacturers of Scott's Emulsion
Description: Trade card advertising Scott's Emulsion featuring a portrait of a young boy in a nautical outfit. He has brown, curly hair, blue eyes, and flushed cheeks. The back lists the ailments the Emulsion can cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Anemia, Cold (Disease), Cough, Scrofula, Tuberculosis
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Boys, Children, Children's Clothing, Clothing And Dress, Portraits
ID: WH349
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Seasonable Suggestions [from verso]
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. Jayne's Expectorant, Dr. Jayne's Liniment, Dr. Jayne's Sanative Pills, and Dr. Jayne's Tonic Vermifuge featuring a nymph-like woman standing on a large leaf sipping something out of a flower blossom. She is wearing a white, flowing dress and has long, curly hair with leaves in it. She is framed by foliage and flowers. The back lists the ailments the advertised medicines cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthma, Bronchitis, Cold (Disease), Cough, Helminths, Indigestion, Pleurisy, Throat—Diseases, Tuberculosis, Whooping Cough
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Flowers, Hair Ornaments, Leaves, Nature, Plants, Portraits, Women
ID: WH285
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Hood's Sarsaparilla Purifies the blood, creates an appetite, makes the weak strong, and builds up the system
Description: Trade card advertising Hood's Sarsaparilla featuring a cupid-like boy with small wings and a blue garment around his waist. He is marching while playing a golden horn and holding a yellow box of Hood's Sarsaparilla. The back lists the health benefits of blood purification, as well as the ingredients Hood's Sarsaparilla.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Body Fluids, Constipation, Furuncle, Headache, Indigestion, Salt Rheum, Scrofula, Syphilis
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Angels, Cherubs, Folklore, Musical Instruments, Mythology
ID: WH144
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
Description: Trade card advertising Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, Lydia E. Pinkham's Liver Pills, Lydia E. Pinkham's Blood Purifier, and Lydia E. Pinkham's Sanative Wash featuring a sailboat wreathed by flowers. There are two red figures on the sailboat, and the wreath of flowers includes blue, white, red, and purple blossoms. The back lists the benefits of the items advertised.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Backache, Body Fluids, Depression, Mental, Erysipelas, Headache, Indigestion, Insomnia, Neurasthenia, Peptic Ulcer, Rheumatism, Salt Rheum, Scrofula, Tumors
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Boats And Boating, Flowers, Sailboats, Sailing Ships
ID: WH185
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Brown's Iron Bitters
Description: Trade card advertising Brown's Iron Bitters featuring a woman peering out from behind a column with text that reads: "Brown's Iron Bitters." She is wearing a blue and white dress and a pink bonnet. Behind her is a tall, flowering bush. On the top left corner is an overlaid trade mark.
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Flowers, Hats, Nature, Women's Hats
ID: WH236
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Our Boy: Compliments of Scott & Bowne Manufacturers of Scott's Emulsion
Description: Trade card advertising Scott's Emulsion featuring a portrait of a young boy in a nautical outfit. He has brown, curly hair, blue eyes, and flushed cheeks. The back lists the ailments the Emulsion can cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Anemia, Cold (Disease), Cough, Scrofula, Tuberculosis
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Boys, Children, Children's Clothing, Clothing And Dress, Portraits
ID: WH350
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dr. Morses Compound Syrup of Yellow Dock Root the Great Blood Purifier
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. Morse's Compound Syrup of Yellow Dock Root featuring a young boy in formal dress presenting an oversized envelope with his head bowed.
Conditions Cured (LC): Headache, Indigestion
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Children, Children's Clothing, Dress And Clothing, Letters, Necklaces
ID: WH172
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dr. Morse's Compound Syrup of Yellow Dock Root the Blood Purifier Cures Constipation and Biliousness: The Great Kidney Remedy
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. Morse's Compound Syrup of Yellow Dock Root featuring a young boy peering into a jeweled, egg-shaped, over-sized box. His dress resembles a formal military officer's.
Conditions Cured (LC): Biliary Tract—Diseases, Constipation
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Children, Children's Clothing, Costume, Dress And Clothing
ID: WH173
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: The Late James R. Wood, M.D.
Description: Trade card featuring a portarit of a mustached man in a dress suit. He is wearing a bowtie, and his hair is slicked to one side.
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Ethnic Costume, Mustaches, Neckties, Portraits
ID: WH301F
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title

Specimen Medicinae Sinicae

Description

The Specimen Medicinae Sinicae is the first illustrated book published on Chinese medicine in the West. It contains an overview of Chinese medical practices including acupuncture and meridian theories, semiology of the tongue, descriptions of Chinese pharmaceuticals and their uses, and an important translation of a Ming treatise on pulse diagnosis. The Specimen includes thirty engraved plates and woodcut illustrations in the text, depicting the Chinese doctrine of the pulse and the semiology of the tongue, along with eight tables showing the variations of the pulses. Explaining Chinese pulse theory to a European audience proved difficult. Insufficient description of the plates, which pictured figures with doubled lines running through the bodies, confused western audiences, who interpreted these representations as indication that the Chinese didn't know their anatomy. The publication of the Specimen Medicinae Sinicae did little to change the commonly-held belief that the Chinese were crackerjack diagnosticians, with a misguided idea of the body's interior. The tenets of Chinese medicine and diagnostics were also somewhat muddled in the minds of westerners. Nevertheless, the translation did much to introduce pulse lore, acupuncture, and new materia medica to a Western audience of medical practitioners eager to experiment.

LIBRARY DIGITAL COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITS

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