From his Illustrations of Acoustic Surgery (London: Longman, Hurst, & Co., 1825) The Wellcome Library: Auroscope (inspector auris) in cross section. Designed and drawn by Thomas Buchanan. Key to components: A) Globular lantern of block tin, with a large door on one side. B) Iron tube, inside polished and secured to lantern. C) Shorter tube… Continue Reading
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He put a ring on it 🙂
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Welcome to yet another edition of this blog’s Monday Series. This series examines how philosophical interest in universal language amongst the early members of the Royal Society of London shaped both philosophical and social perceptions of deafness during the seventeenth century. INTRODUCTION The seventeenth century saw a tremendous surge in British publications examining deafness… Continue Reading
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Twenty-five years have elapsed since I commenced this line of practice; and I have every reason to be satisfied with what I have accomplished in that period. I leave it to the profession to say what was the state of aural surgery before I commenced practice, and what had been done to increase our knowledge… Continue Reading
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Conclusions: A Debt to Alexander the Aggressor? The deaf community was never at ease with Bell’s eugenics attempts for normalization. When the ABA’s Committee on Eugenics drafted a bill limiting marriage between “undesirables,” the deaf fought back. At his presidential address to the National Association of the Deaf, George Veditz declared that “[i]t is evident… Continue Reading
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“…quacks, and aurists, get reputation for syringing the ear, when surgeons lose it; not because the quack has more knowledge of his profession, but because he takes more pains than the surgeon.” -Unknown, c.1828/1829. (Yes, I’m still holed up in the British Library reading 19th century treatises on aural surgery)
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In fact, with one or two exceptions, “aurist,” in England, has been hitherto but another term for “quack.” –James Yearsley (1805-1869), 1839.
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One of my favorite parts of experiencing a book–whether it’s a nineteenth century treatise, or a trashy beach novel–is reading the dedication page.  I always wonder how much time and effort the author puts into deciding who gets the honor of the dedication (and of course, thinking about who I will dedicate my dissertation to…) and am at times… Continue Reading
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As focused as I’ve been on John Harrison Curtis, my current research focus has branched out, exploring a seeming network of aurists that also practiced in London during Curtis’ time. William Wright (1773-1860), as I’ve mentioned previously, was one of Curtis’ contemporaries, and perhaps his most fierce and prominent competitor. Wright had a very long career–nearly 50… Continue Reading
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If, on being introduced to a new circle, you find yourself addressing a person apparently between the ages of eighteen and thirty, who makes small or no reply even to your most piquant remarks, do not immediately set down him or her as either proud, sulky, or irremediably stupid; but let the thought suggest itself… Continue Reading
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From The Era (London, England), Sunday July 14, 1839:
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The British physicians as well, discussed the nature of hereditary transmission of phthisis, loosely gathering into opposing camps of solidists and humoralists.[1] Although the Dutch Hermann Boerhaave had already classified disorders either as congenital or connate, medical men in Britain who were interested in hereditary transmission debated on the possible causal routes of diseases in… Continue Reading
From the Hands of Quacks 