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Insane asylums in the 1850's were popular. Doctors considered the insane to be disorganized individuals that needed to be in an organized society, i.e. an asylum. Asylums were believed to be for city people that were disorganized in their mind and therefore could not live in society. To cure this, they were sent to an asylum where their life there was organized and structured. Furthermore, these asylums were not in the city, but in the country for relaxation and easement of the mind. One problem with this theory was money. Financially, it was hard to implement this. Hospitals of today were not seen until after the civil war, and then they were basically for soldiers. Midwives were still seen, but they were quickly being ousted by doctors. The medicinal ads below illustrate some of the "remedies" that were being sold during the 1850's. One such ad illustrates opium as the "poor child's nurse." A movement, tied in with temperance, developed in the 1850's against opium. Exercise and health were considered good for the well being of the body, as can be seen below with the exercise instructions and illustrations.
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 APOTHECARY AD, 1852. |
 MIDWIFE AD, 1854. |
 BRACES AD, 1854. |
 ARTIFICIAL LIMBS AD, 1851. |
 ENEMA AD, 1854. |
 PILLS AD, 1859. |
"PROPER AND IMPROPER POSITION TO LIE IN BED,"
in Jane Taylor, Woulds't Know Thyself (New York, 1858). This illustration
appears in a health manual, advocating sleeping in a prone position
rather than being propped up on two pillows and a huge bolster.
(Nylander, ill. 79)
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CITY OF WORCESTER. CITY DIRECTORY, 1851.
CITY OF WORCESTER. CITY DIRECTORY, 1852.
CITY OF WORCESTER. CITY DIRECTORY, 1854.
NYLANDER, JANE C. OUR OWN SNUG FIRESIDE. NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1994.
Florence Nightingale: Distinuished Women of Past and Present
Florence Nightingale Museum Web Site
The International Network for the History of Hospitals
Princeton University Press: The History of Science and Medicine, Philosophy of Science