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"A Man of Commanding Presence": Dr. James Henry Etheridge Papers and Exhibition

Dr. James Henry Etheridge as a young man

The Medical Historical Library is pleased to announce a gift of the papers of 19th century physician, obstetrician, and gynecologist Dr. James Henry Etheridge.  The papers are a donation from the estate of Margaret Grant Young, 2017. Learn more about Dr. Etheridge. 

 

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Today we are celebrating the birthday of everyone’s favorite polymath, Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519). During his lifetime da Vinci produced many anatomical sketches, but they were unpublished and unfortunately not discovered until hundreds of years after his death. The drawings are considered far ahead of their time—for example, da Vinci is thought to be the first to accurately represent the human embryo’s position within the uterus. These images are from the title, Leonardo da Vinci: corpus of the anatomical studies in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle (1978-80), a collection of facsimiles of Leonardo’s anatomical studies. #davinci #leonardodavinci #anatomy #anatomical #anatomicalart #embryo #uterus #medhist #histmed #librariesofinstagram We love patent medicines so we’re excited to share this new acquisition, an early 20thcentury handwritten Patent medicine formula book, accompanied by representative samples of labels for the medicines in a different binder. The colorful labels feature Hobson brand patent medicines manufactured by Pfieffer Chemical Company/distributed by Standard Laboratories, such as Hobson’s Intestinal Astringent (For Simple Diarrhea, Sometimes Known as “Summer Complaint”). The manuscript formulas are signed by Dr. Thomas A. Hobson, of Parkersburg, Iowa and include recipes such as “Hair Restorer” and “Tooth Powder”, including ingredients such as boric acid, corn starch, glycerin, chloral hydrate, opium, belladonna, paraffin and carbolic acid. #patentmedicine #vintageadvertising #medicinelabel #hairrestorer #toothpowder #summercomplaint #coughsyrup #pharmaceuticals #medhist #histmed #historyofmedicine Our library founder and famous neurosurgeon Dr. Harvey Cushing was born on this day, April 8th, 1869. This print, part of a larger series issued by Parke Davis & Co., features Cushing with one of his patients and long-time assistant Adolph Watzka. Come visit the Cushing Center to learn more about Cushing and his patients through brains, tumors, and photos. This print was donated to our library by Bert Hansen, Ph.D. #harveycushing #neurosurgery #medicine #brain #histmed #medhist #librariesofinstagram This is the first in a series of posts on a new exhibition, The Early Modern Pharmacy: Drugs, Recipes, and Apothecaries, 1500-1800, organized by students in Paola Bertucci’s undergraduate seminar Collecting Nature and Art. The following is excerpted from exhibit: . This book [Panacea; or, The Universal Medicine… (1659)] written by Dr. Giles Everard provides an in-depth description of three types of tobacco and their properties. He notes that tobacco can be used to treat a vast number of ailments including headaches, burns, gunshot wounds, and chest cancer. When sixteenth-century Europeans started reporting therapeutic properties of tobacco from the Americas, it quickly became known as a panacea, or a universal cure. Many even called tobacco the “holy herb” or “God’s remedy.” Native Americans used the plant to help with toothaches, poison, and wounds. Medicinal tobacco persisted in pharmacopoeias until the mid-nineteenth century—only during the second half of the twentieth century did the popularity of medicinal tobacco start dying down, thanks to the confirmation of the link between smoking tobacco and cardiovascular and lung diseases, tobacco bans, and strong advertising campaigns. #gileseverard #tobacco #pipe #smoking #woodcutwednesday #engraving #medhist #histmed #medicalhistory #librariesofinstagram