• “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

  • Reading List

    Recently, a friend of mine asked me for some suggestions for scholarly literature on medical pluralism, the medical marketplace, and the “world of goods” of early modern Europe. I’m always a fan of reading lists, so I thought I’d share with you the list I provided. By no means is this a complete list (i.e.… Continue Reading

  • Sound the Trumpets

    Curtis’ Dispensary aimed to not only provide treatment for the poor and destitute populations, but also to supply acoustic instruments to those with severe hearing loss irremediable by medical treatments. Curtis was prolific in instrument design; taking into account new theories on sound and his own understanding of the physiology of the ear, he invented… Continue Reading

  • Mr. Curtis’ Acoustic Chair

    First introduced and described in the fourth edition of his Treatise on the Physiology and Diseases of the Ear (1831), John Harrison Curtis’ acoustic chair earned him national recognition as an inventor during the first half of the nineteenth century. The chair is a large library chair affixed with a trumpet alongside the chair such… Continue Reading

  • Charitable Agenda for the Deaf

    In Britain, efforts to medicalize the deaf have a long-standing history that can be traced back to the Evangelical Revival of the late eighteenth century as medical men sought for a place within institutions for the deaf that were strictly devoted for instruction. In contrast to the l’esprit philosophique of late-eighteenth century France which precipitated… 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