The Health Jolting Chair, for All Your Medical Ailments, From the 1880s
This post was originally published on this siteThis comfortable-looking health jolting chair of New York was touted as the “most important Health Mechanism ever produced.” […]
medical
The Rector Rotor! For All Your Prostate Needs!
This post was originally published on this siteThis dilator from the 1910s promised to cure “piles, constipation, and prostrate problems.” It was designed to break […]
Nasenformer “Zello” (Zello Noseformer!), an Old-Timey German Nose-Error-Correcting Contraption From the 1930s
This post was originally published on this siteThis delightful vintage German contraption will cure your nose erros (Potato Nose, Saddle Nose, Duckbill Nose, Wide Nose, […]
Haunting Portraits of Patients at the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, Yorkshire From the 1860s
This post was originally published on this siteThe West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum at Wakefield, Yorkshire (familiarly known as Wakefield Asylum), was opened in 1818 […]
The Gepetto of Prosthetic Limbs: These Early Prostheses Made by James Gillingham From 1900 Were Decades Ahead of Time
This post was originally published on this siteNicknamed the “Gepetto of Prosthetic Limbs,” James Gillingham (1839–1924) was a British boot and shoemaker at his Golden […]
Dayalets’ Hellish Vitamin Mascots Intended to Promote a Healthy Diet From the 1950s
This post was originally published on this siteNothing really prepares you for the Dayalets. As you can gather from the cover, they were vitamins, but […]
The Whole Face Ophthalmophantome: Creepy Antique Eye Surgery Training Tool From the Early 20th Century
This post was originally published on this siteDevice used by ophthalmology students to hone surgical skills circa 1900. The adjustable model consists of a black […]
Marybel, the Doll That Gets Well by Madame Alexander, 1959
This post was originally published on this siteThe daughter of Russian immigrants, Beatrice Alexander was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 9, 1895. She […]
In 1908, a Doctor Used X-Rays to Highlight the Damaging Effects of Tight Corsets on a Woman’s Body
This post was originally published on this siteLudovic O’Followell, a French doctor who in 1905 and 1908 published books on the effects of the corset […]
Painless Parker, an Early 20th Century Street Dentist Who Pulled 357 Teeth in One Day
This post was originally published on this siteBefore local anesthesia could manage the pain, one early 20th century dentist distracted his patients with showgirls and […]
Chevalier Jackson Demonstrating Michelle the Choking Doll, 1937
This post was originally published on this sitePictures of Dr. Chevalier Jackson “operating” on Michelle the Choking Doll, used to demonstrate his techniques in laryngeal […]
A Patient Undergoing Treatment for Mental Illness, Germany, ca. 1890
This post was originally published on this siteThis 1890 photo depicts a woman forced into a crucifixion pose and facing a wall. The woman is […]
Uniforms Worn by Researchers During Experiments With Plague in the Philippines, ca. 1912
This post was originally published on this siteThis photo from the archives of the National Museum of Public Health shows two plague researchers in the […]
Surgical Mask Made From Transparent Material, 1938
This post was originally published on this siteInvented by a well known doctor in 1938, a new type of surgical mask is constructed from transparent […]
Use Seesaw to Start Stopped Heart, 1933
This post was originally published on this siteA life-saving seesaw has been invented in 1933 by a University of California scientist to revive those whose […]
Inside Stannington Sanatorium, the Very First Purpose-Built Children’s TB Hospital in the UK
This post was originally published on this siteStannington Sanatorium was the first purpose-built children’s tuberculosis sanatorium in the UK which officially opened on October 5, […]
An 1894 Wax Model of a French Sailor With Skin Disease of the Nose, Causing Bulbous Irritation
This post was originally published on this siteRealistic wax models have been utilized in military medicine to study many different medical conditions. This 1894 particular […]
30 Intimate Photographs Capture Everyday Life in French Psychiatric Hospitals in the 1950s
This post was originally published on this siteJean-Philippe Charbonnier (August 28, 1921 – May 28, 2004) was a French photographer whose works typify the humanist […]
In the 1920s, People Thought Radioactive Water Was Good for the Health
This post was originally published on this siteBack in the 1920s, people thought that drinking radium, and thorium, infused water was healthy. One of the […]
The Radium Girls: The Living Dead Women in the 1920s
This post was originally published on this siteThe Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint. […]
Patient Receiving Phototherapy via an Arc Light, 1907
This post was originally published on this siteThis photograph depicts a patient receiving phototherapy treatment via an arc light developed by Niels Ryberg Finsen, the […]
Antiseptic Kisses in Hollywood: Stanley Morner and Betty Furness Rehearsing a Love Scene With Masks, 1937
This post was originally published on this siteTo fool the flu, during a epidemic in 1937, movie kisses were rehearsed behind antiseptic masks. Since each […]
Cantonese Woman Wearing a Silk Mask During the Third Bubonic Plague, 1900
This post was originally published on this siteCantonese woman with bound feet wearing a silk mask during the third bubonic plague, 1900. The third plague […]
Drive-Thru Polio Clinic in the Early 1960s
This post was originally published on this siteIn the early 1960s, medicine borrowed a page from the drive-thru window’s concept of fast, “don’t-even-need-to-leave-your-car” convenience in […]
Dead Coyote Teeth and Melted Toothbrushes Made Into Homemade Dentures, ca. 1900s
This post was originally published on this siteIn the early 1900s, a man couldn’t afford proper dentures, so he made his own using melted down […]