Lotions, Potions, Pills, and Magic: Health Care in Early America

Acknowledgments

>> xiii Acknowledgments The writing of this book was a collaborative process. Except in a few instances, the original research supporting my conclusions is based on the more detailed investigations of other scholars. Many of those students of history and medicine who contributed important data are probably unaware of their significance for this work. They are, however, acknowledged in the bibliographic essays that accompany each chapter. Like most historians, I am eternally grateful for such scholarship and hope that I have given sufficient credit to those studies and have not distorted any conclusions. But of all those whose analysis and research have been most rewarding for me, I give special thanks to Alfred Crosby, Charles C. Mann, John Harley Warner, and the late John Duffy, all of whom have been instrumental in the formulation of my own ideas and understanding of the health problems in early America. Of that quartet I have met only Professor Duffy who participated in my Ph D orals at the University of Maryland. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the late Helen Brock with whom I had many conversations and sharing of information that stimulated my interest in the history of health and medical care. It is unfortunate that the bulk of her research has never been published and thus her name does not appear in the bibliographic essay. The idea for this book began during the bicentennial celebration of the mid-1970s when I prepared a course on Health in Early America at Morgan State University. It was subsequently offered at Johns Hopkins University and attracted students preparing for medical degrees. Questions and comments from students stimulated more thought and consideration on the role of medical care on the status of health before modern medicine. Other friends and colleagues continued to express an interest in the subject and encouraged the writing of a book on the state of health and medical care in early America. I am always grateful for the kind words from Thomas Cripps, my colleague at Morgan State, and from my cohorts at the University of Tennessee . Conversations with David Grimsted of the University of Maryland were illuminating, as always, and brought some lesser-known figures to my attention. xiv << Acknowledgments Many libraries and their librarians were essential for the research or providing pictures, but I am especially in debt to Anne Bridges of the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) and Richard Behles of the University of Maryland Health and Human Services Library (Baltimore). That library’s photographer, Thom Pinho, provided excellent images from their collection. The National Library of Medicine website was especially helpful in locating and providing illustrations. The site was easy to navigate and the system for requesting images quite efficient, making the search for visual material that much smoother. Thanks also to Nicole Joniec of the Library Company of Philadelphia , various staff members of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, Marianne Martin of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Evie Santana-Nola of the Harvard College Library, and the staff at the Library of Congress for locating and providing other images from their collections. And finally, I must acknowledge the Internet as a source of information and, in particular, Google books for making nineteenth-century published works so easily available. Those sources saved many a trip to distant archives. Several friends were willing to read selected chapters. To John Neff, Edward Rogers, and Daniel Feller, I say thank you for your comments. I am also grateful to the anonymous reviewers who helped me refine my thesis as they insisted on more “fleshing out” to support my ideas regarding the conflict and tensions about health care in early America. Insightful comments from David Miller of the Garamond Agency (who decided not to take it on as a project) and then Debbie Gershenowitz of NYU Press helped to develop that thesis. The careful editing from NYU Press cleared up some fuzzy writing and brought about a much needed clarity of expression. Members of my family have contributed each in his or her own way to encourage my writing. To my granddaughter, Rachel Breslaw, whose budding interest in history and writing is a special inspiration; to my grandson, Alec Breslaw, whose enthusiasm for life and innovation has been an added inducement to come up with new ideas; and to my son and daughter-in-law, Karl and Theresa Breslaw, who were always willing to listen to my latest proposal over shared meals. I am especially grateful to my husband, John Muldowny , whose patience during the writing process and presence during the research phase is so very much appreciated. To all of them I dedicate this book. ...