Items

Title

Aristotle’s Masterpiece, Or The Secrets of Generation displayed in all the parts thereof

Description

Published initially in 1684 and popular in both America and England for over two hundred years, this became the most widely reprinted medical book in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The contributions of the Masterpiece were not particularly scientific, but drew largely from Hippocrates, and Galen, as well as other classical and medieval writers. The source material came from two earlier books: Levinus Lemnius’s Secret Miracles of Nature, originally published in Latin in 1599, and The Complete Midwives Practice Enlarged (author unknown). Chapter headings include sections titled, “The Signs of Barrenness” “The Way of getting to a Boy or a Girl,” “How a Midwife Ought to be Qualified” and “A Word of Advice to both Sexes in the Act of Copulation.” The information this title offered on conception, pregnancy, and childbirth wasn’t particularly innovative; many seventeenth century discoveries in gynecology are absent from the text and replaced by Hippocratic pathology, or by superstition. The “Aristotle” of the title was pseudonymous, and likely evoked by the book’s author to give the tome scientific credibility. The book’s true author is unknown, though Culpepper and William Salmon, an English physician and author, are sometimes credited.

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Subjects (LC)

Anatomy, Anthropometry, Early works to 1800, Medical illustration, Medicine, Printing—History, Proportion (Art), Renaissance, Wood-engraving

Title: Friendship is constant in all other things, save in the office and affairs of love ...
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 young girl leaning on a sign and a young boy who is seemingly courting her with a bunch of grapes. He is holding a blue box or book and is wearing an ornate hat with a long feather in it. She is wearing a flowing dress. Behind them is a tree with foliage. 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, Children, Children's Hats, Costume, Feathers, Gifts, Hats, Leaves, Trees
ID: WH286
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Sarsaparilla
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Sarsaparilla featuring an image of a man in a dressing gown holding a bottle of Ayer's Sarsaparilla and reading a paper advertising the medicine. A woman wearing a bonnet and a dress with lace cuffs and collar reads over his shoulder and clasps his arm. The back explains the product's health benefits and has an image of an animal intertwined with the word "MIND."
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Body Fluids, Catarrh, Eczema, Furuncle, Indigestion, Lymph Node, Rheumatism, Tuberculosis
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Bottles, Clothing And Dress, Lace And Lacemaking, Men, Men's Clothing, Sarsaparilla, Women, Women's Clothing, Women's Hats
ID: WH112
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Enfoncé! Plus de malades à soigner depuis que tout le monde prend 20 gouttes de véritable Fer Bravais avant chaque repas
Description: Trade card advertising Fer Bravais featuring a young girl wearing a pointed hat and apron with her arms outstretched, surrounded by a blue fleur de lis border. The back lists the ailments Fer Bravais can cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Chlorosis, Fatigue, Influenza, Typhoid Fever
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Costume, Hats, Portraits, Women's Clothing, Women's Hats
ID: WH200
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Burdock Blood Bitters: Louise Paullin
Description: Trade card advertising Burdock Blood Bitters featuring a portrait of a woman facing right. She is wearing a gown and long gloves. A sash on her chest reads: "Burdock Blood Bitters." She is holding a book. The back of the card has testimony of satisfied customers.
Conditions Cured (LC): Indigestion
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Books And Reading, Clothing And Dress, Costume, Ethnic Costume, Flowers, Hats, Portraits, Women
ID: WH367
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Parker's Tonic: the Great Health and Strength Restorer
Description: Trade card advertising Parker's Tonic, Parker's Hair Balsam, and Floreston's Cologne featuring an elderly man sitting desolately in a chair on the left with a healthy, vibrant man dining on a luxurious meal on the right. The man on the right is seemingly pouring himself some Tonic while the man on the left is bemoaning his lack of appetite. The back lists the curative properties of the Tonic and Balsam and touts the beauty of the Cologne.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthma, Body Fluids, Bronchitis, Cold (Disease), Cough, Dandruff, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Indigestion, Itching, Malaria, Neuralgia, Rheumatism, Tuberculosis
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Bottles, Clothing And Dress, Dinners And Dining, Hats, Old Age, Suppers, Tableware
ID: WH179
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Burdock Blood Bitters
Description: Trade card advertising Burdock Blood Bitters featuring a portrait of a woman in elegant dress with a red, feathered hat that is adorned with a large B pin of sorts on which is written Burdock Blood Bitters. She is wearing gold jewelry, including a choker with a B on it. Her dress is blue with lilies on it, and she has a small rose pinned to the front of her dress. The back lists the ailments Burdock Blood Bitters helps combat and testimony from Burdock Blood Bitters users.
Conditions Cured (LC): Headache, Indigestion
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Feathers, Flowers, Gold Jewelry, Portraits, Women's Hats
ID: WH128
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: This is all right, Hood's Sarsaparilla Can't Fool me twice
Description: Trade card advertising Hood's Sarsaparilla featuring an elderly man outside a pharmacy looking at a box of Hood's Sarsaparilla. He is wearing a yellow jacket and holding a red umbrella under his left arm. Behind him are buildings and a fountain. The back is an advertisement for a concert as well as a description of the ailments Hood's Sarsaparilla can cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Headache, Indigestion
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Clothing And Dress, Drugstores, Fountains, Hats, Men, Men's Hats, Owls, Portraits, Umbrellas, Water
ID: WH389
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title

Engravings of the Arteries

Description

This early work by the Scottish anatomist Charles Bell was composed for medical students and aimed to offer accurately and simply-rendered illustrations of the arteries. It was used as a preparatory text for surgical study and practice. The ten engravings in this volume were hand-colored, and labelled with letters corresponding to explanatory descriptions of the arteries on the opposite page. Bell was an accomplished medical illustrator; the engravings were done by Thomas Medland after Bell’s drawings. For Bell, true anatomical understanding was aided in pairing accurate drawing with thorough description. Bell believed that a variety of bodies should be used as subjects, and that the artist must choose the most typical anatomical examples to copy accurately. Bell made important inroads in determining the sensory functions of the nervous system, and was an early advocate of the idea that different parts of the brain controlled different functions; his pioneering work on the brain and cranial nerves influenced the work of other important brain researchers for decades. Chief among his achievements are his very fine medical illustrations, unsurpassed in terms of efficiency of presentation and elegance. These are very much on display in this beautiful book.

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Subjects (LC)

Anatomy, Arteries, Arteries—Surgery, Atlases, Engraving, Medical illustration, Medicine, Nervous system, Surgery, Surgery—History

Title: A Free Sample Bottle of Warner's Safe Cure
Description: Trade card advertising Warner's Safe Cure featuring a photograph of a woman's face surrounded by white fabric, lace, and feathers. The back details how to get a free sample of Warner's Safe Cure and lists the ailments it cures.
Conditions Cured (LC): Abscess, Acne, Asthma, Backache, Biliary Tract—Diseases, Bright's Disease, Catarrh, Constipation, Convulsions, Convulsions, Diabetes, Diarrhea, Dizziness, Edema, Fatigue, Food Poisoning, Gout, Headache, Impotence, Indigestion, Jaundice, Malaria, Neuralgia, Neurasthenia, Rheumatism, Sciatica, Tumors, Urinary Organs—Calculi, Vertigo
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Feathers, Hats, Lace And Lacemaking, Portraits, Women, Women's Hats
ID: WH375
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Fasciculus medicine : similitudo complexionum & elementorum. [1500]
Description: The sixth edition of the Fasciculus, and the fifth printed in Venice, also by the brothers Gregorii in Latin. The edition uses the same blocks as the 1495 edition, with some minor modifications of the plates. The edition adds a new treatise by Rhazes on children’s diseases. This is the only edition of our five with colored plates, and is bound with Savonarola's Practica medicinae.
Subjects (LC): Medicine-Early works to 1800, Medicine, Medieval, Human anatomy-Early works to 1800, Human anatomy-Charts, diagrams, etc, Surgery-Early works to 1800, Genitourinary organs-Early works to 1800, Generative organs-Early works to 1800, Plague-Early works to 1800

Title: Fasciculus medicine ... tractans de anothomia et diversis infirmitatibus, et corporis humani...[1513]
Description: The eleventh edition of the Fasciculus, printed by Gregorio de Gregorii and featuring Latin Gothic type. The size of the printed page is much larger than in all other editions apart from 1491; as a consequence, the plates are less clipped by the binder (though the blocks themselves are abbreviated). Our copy lacks the frontispiece plate and the urinoscopic consultation plate.
Subjects (LC): Human anatomy-Atlases-Early works to 1800, Medicine-Atlases-Early works to 1800, Human anatomy-Early works to 1800, Genitourinary organs-Early works to 1800, Generative organs-Early works to 1800, Plague-Early works to 1800, Medicine-Early works to 1800, Human anatomy-Charts, diagrams, etc

Title: Cas-car-ria is made by a distinguished chemist [from verso]
Description: Trade card advertising Cas-car-ria featuring a young girl and a dog chasing devil-esque creatures, labeled as various ailments, into a body of water. The girl is wearing a bright pink dress and holds a switch in her hand. The dog is large and brown and white. The back quotes a piece by Lord Roscommon.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Rheumatism
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Children, Cliffs, Demonology, Devil, Dogs, Folklore, Grasslands, Mythology, Staffs (Sticks, Canes, Etc.), Trees, Water
ID: WH244
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: If you feel irritable take Cas-car-ria [from verso]
Description: Trade card advertising Cas-car-ria featuring a young girl with a dog running devil-esque creatures, presumably representing the ailments listed next to their bodies, into the water. The girl is wearing a bright pink dress and holds a switch in her hand. The dog is large and brown and white. The back quotes a piece by Henry Ward Beecher.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Rheumatism
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Children, Cliffs, Demonology, Devil, Dogs, Folklore, Grasslands, Mythology, Staffs (Sticks, Canes, Etc.), Trees, Water
ID: WH246
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: It pays to be well — take Cas-car-ria if sick — and save money [from verso]
Description: Trade card advertising Cas-car-ria featuring a young girl with a dog running devil-esque creatures, presumably representing the ailments listed next to their bodies, into the water. The girl is wearing a bright pink dress and holds a switch in her hand. The dog is large and brown and white. The back quotes a piece by Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Rheumatism
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Children, Cliffs, Demonology, Devil, Dogs, Folklore, Grasslands, Mythology, Staffs (Sticks, Canes, Etc.), Trees, Water
ID: WH247
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title

The byrth of Mankynde newly translated out of Laten into Englyshe

Description

The Byrth of Mankynde, published in 1540, is the oldest manual for midwives printed in the English language. It remained in use both as a guidebook for midwives and as a source for physicians in the practice of obstetrics throughout Europe for the next two hundred years. The 1540 Byrth was a translation from the Latin edition of De Partu Hominis of Eucharius Rösslin’s Rosengarten. Rösslin was charged with supervising the midwives of Frankfurt, and although this volume contains sound instruction on delivery procedures, it did not break new ground in the field of obstetrics. Instead, it makes available the teachings of the Roman physician Soranus, popularized by Moschion, author of a 6th century question – and –answer book for Roman midwives. Other influences include Galen, Hippocrates, Aetius, Magnus and others. The volume’s seventeen copper-engraved plates were among the first in England to be produced by a roller press. The first illustrates “the Womans Stwle,” or birth chair, a birth aid which had been in use at least since Soranus’ time. Sixteen additional plates depict “Byrth Figures” in various positions in utero. The babies in these images, who resemble children age three or four and not fetuses, float dreamily in light-bulb-shaped vessels.

Description

Trade card advertising Brown's Iron Bitters featuring a framed portrait of a woman's head. The glass of the frame is broken, revealing the woman's nose and mouth. She has brown hair that is in an updo and is wearing a brown dress and gold, hooped earrings. The back describes the disease malaria and how the Iron Bitters can help cure it.

Conditions Cured (LC)

Indigestion, Malaria

Subjects (LC)

Advertising—Medicine, Bows, Earrings, Glass, Gold Jewelry, Hair Ornaments, Picture Frames And Framing, Portrait Frames, Portraits, Ribbons, Women

ID

WH238

Collection

William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

LIBRARY DIGITAL COLLECTIONS & EXHIBITS

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