The Quack Doctor : Historical Remedies For All Your Ills

From the harangues of charlatans to the sophisticated advertising of the Victorian era, quackery sports a colourful history. Featuring entertaining advertisements from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this book investigates the inventive ways in which quack remedies were promoted – and suggests that the people who bought them should not be written off as gullible after all. There's the Methodist minister and his museum of intestinal worms, the obesity cure that turned fat into sweat, and the device that brought the fresh air of Italy into British homes. The story of quack advertising is bawdy, gruesome, funny and sometimes moving – and in this book it takes to the stage to promote itself as a fascinating part of the history of medicine. From the harangues of mountebanks to the dubious advertisements in Victorian newspapers, quackery sports a colorful history. Featuring entertaining advertisements from historical newspapers, this book investigates the inventive ways in which quack remedies were promoted – and whether the people who bought them should be written off as gullible after all. There's the Methodist minister and his museum of intestinal worms, the obesity cure that turned fat into sweat, and the device that brought the fresh air of Italy into British homes. The story of quack advertising is bawdy, gruesome, funny, and sometimes moving – and in this book it takes to the stage to promote itself as a fascinating part of the history of medicine From the harangues of mountebanks to the dubious advertisements in Victorian newspapers, quackery sports a colourful history. Featuring entertaining advertisements from historical newspapers, this book investigates the inventive ways in which quack remedies were promoted - and whether the people who bought them should be written off as gullible after all. There's the Methodist minister and his museum of intestinal worms, the obesity cure that turned fat into sweat, and the device that brough the fresh air of Italy into British homes. The story of quack advertising is bawdy, gruesome, funn "From the harangues of charlatans to the sophisticated advertising of the Victorian era, quackery sports a colourful history. Featuring entertaining advertisements from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this book investigates the inventive ways in which quack remedies were promoted - and suggests that the people who bought them should not be written off as gullible after all!.--book jacket