• King Goa Chair

    The instrument maker F.C. Rein created this acoustic throne for King John VI of Portugal (also called King Goa VI). According to the Deafness in Disguise Exhibit, King John VI used the throne from about 1819 until his death in 1826, while ruling from Brazil. The King’s chair was equipped with a large receiving apparatus… Continue Reading

  • “Who shall decide when aurists disagree?”

    As aural surgery became a “fashionable” trend amongst aristocratic households and several aurists increased in prosperity, conflict between aurists became characteristic of the field. Aurists fiercely competed with each other for positions, status, and patients, and accused each other of being quacks. “Quack” seemed to be less than an accusatory term than a label thrown… Continue Reading

  • Trust in Quacks

    Lacking a proper medical degree or the right sorts of qualifications were often indicators for defining the quack medical practitioner. Or so it was accordingly to the Royal College of Physicians, who were always wary of their financial state in the medical marketplace. Yet the lay public were not always clear as to who the… Continue Reading

  • Sermons and Philanthropy

    I briefly wrote about the Royal Dispensary for Diseases of the Ear, remarking how Curtis’ efforts to increase the prestige of the RDDE relied on patronage and support from respectable physicians and surgeons. London society had praised the RDDE and applauded Curtis for drawing attention the plight of the deaf and providing the poor and… Continue Reading

  • Who’s a Quack?

    In a 1825 article in The London Magazine aptly titled “Of Fashion in Physic,” the writer remarks how the public’s willingness to pay for what they considered “fashionable” trends in medicine and surgery left them vulnerable to ambitious practitioners or charlatans willing to exploit public faith. Speaking of aurists, the writer declared: The people are not… Continue Reading

  • The London Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb

    In examining the relationship and conflict between the medical and social perceptions of deafness, I began to evaluate how certain medical practitioners strove to implement their medical expertise and authority upon educational institutions for the deaf. John Harrison Curtis was no exception to the growing body of aurists who attempted to increase their reputation with… Continue Reading

  • The Cephaloscope

    In a previous post, I outlined how social attitudes determined the acceptance and shaping of instruments, particularly medical instruments. John Harrison Curtis (1778-1856) was another medical practitioner who followed the early nineteenth century trend in aural surgery to introduce new instruments and innovations for improving medical diagnosis and surgical treatment of deafness and ear diseases.… Continue Reading