2023-11-13 21:23
Tune in to Best Medicine on BBC Radio 4, 6.30pm, 14 November 2023 (or listen later at BBC Sounds and all podcast platforms). Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean, it’s an entertaining panel… Read More
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The Quack Doctor Blog
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A collection of panacean powders, pills, potions and pamphlets, as advertised in historical newspapers
2023-04-27 08:39
In early 20th-century New York, a mailman introduced a new patent medicine called Health Grains for indigestion – but the ingredients were far from beneficial. Mrs Bertha Bertsche, a 3… Read More
2022-10-04 21:02
In 1880s Georgia, a Baptist minister accidentally discovered rocks that appeared to emit a therapeutic power of electricity. As their fame spread, the location became a popular resort for pe… Read More
2019-05-02 10:19
A version of this article first appeared on the Wellcome Library blog on 3 February 2016. A box of confectionery arrived at the green room of the Princess’s Theatre, Oxford Street, on… Read More
2018-10-10 09:16
A horse, tacked up but riderless, grazed peacefully on the north bank of Oregon’s Siuslaw River one December morning in 1904. When the search party saw it, they shouted out in hope, bu… Read More
2017-05-19 11:30
In 1890s London, the 'Lady Montrose Pills' blackmail scheme efficiently and heartlessly targeted more than 8,000 victims. In this comprehensive account of the case, Dick Weindling intro… Read More
2016-10-28 09:40
While browsing your local newspaper in the 1890s, an asthma-cure advertisement might distract you from tales of the latest sensational crimes. ‘Agreeable to use, certain in their effec… Read More
2016-10-15 12:27
No one likes to be the hapless person who wanders into the garage and finds a forgotten turkey carcase humming with maggots and surrounded in a fug of pungent effluvia. I suppose it would be… Read More
2016-09-17 14:51
A review of the Wellcome Collection’s exhibition, Bedlam: The Asylum and Beyond, which runs from 15 September 2016 – 15 January 2017. I’ve never spoken here about… Read More
2016-04-18 14:01
Join me for some quack-filled talks in London this summer! I’ve been invited by the London Fortean Society and Antique Beat to share my stories of fraud, advertising and the occasional… Read More
2016-01-19 11:38
I appeared on Great British Railway Journeys, series 7, episode 11, on 18 Jan 2016. The episode is available on BBC iPlayer, and here’s some more information about one of the remedies… Read More
2016-01-13 15:15
Injuries acquired in unusual circumstances, spurious news stories of medical happenings, bizarre or gruesome reports from doctors’ casebooks… Strange cases is an occas… Read More
2015-12-15 12:04
The history of medicine is a vast subject, encompassing the whole of humanity in every region of the globe. For millennia, our ancestors have sought to combat disease, relieve pain and postp… Read More
2015-05-11 10:20
While researching in the British Newspaper Archive, Kilburn historians Dick Weindling and Marianne Colloms discovered a practitioner with the unusual name of Du Brange. They were intrigued t… Read More
2015-04-16 10:22
Fellow history blogger The Groovy Historian invited me to do a vodcast about syphilis. Here’s the result! You can sign up to The Groovy Historian’s Youtube channel for regular hi… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
In May 1895, a low-key but intriguing advertisement appeared in British local newspapers. What could this ‘death microbe’ be? Did it refer to the lethal pathogens such as anthrax… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
It might be 1 April but there are no fools in the history blogosphere if the last month is anything to go by. I’m pleased to present History Carnival 132, showcasing some of the fascin… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
The Quack Doctor will be hosting the April edition of The History Carnival, a monthly showcase for the latest history blogging, and you are invited to nominate posts for inclusion. The Carni… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Advertisements for Ramey’s Medicator claimed that it would overcome ‘death dealing disease.’ What most customers didn’t know, however, was that the inhaler would neve… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Last year, The Quack Doctor featured some bottles from the collection of Michael Till, including this gorgeous and rare example of Cavania’s Wonder-Worker Lotion. A father and daughter… Read More
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