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Catalog Data

Measurements:
overall: 1 in x 1 1/4 in; 2.54 cm x 3.175 cm
overall: 1/8 in x 1 1/4 in; .3175 cm x 3.175 cm
Object Name:
Electrotherapeutic Apparatus
electrotherapeutic apparatus, battery
Other Terms:
Electrotherapeutic Apparatus, Boyd's Battery; Electrotherapeutic Apparatus; Battery, Boyd's; Medicine
Date made:
ca. 1880
Patent date:
1878-01-17
Description:
The “BOYD’S BATTERY” inscription on this small gizmo refers to a widely advertised personal wellness device introduced in the late 1870s. A reporter who visited J. C. Boyd’s laboratory in New York City mentioned “a secret method of amalgamating the metals used, which is the great reason of the powerful action of the battery upon the body, and this secret is known only to Prof. Boyd and some of his staff.” Boyd’s battery was allegedly patented on January 17, 1878, but the U.S. Patent Office did not issue patents on that date.
Ref: “Electricity as a Curative Agent,” ad in The United States Official Postal Guide (Jan. 1881), p. 37.
J. C. Boyd, Boyd’s Miniature Galvanic Battery ().
The Blood is the Life. Nearly all Diseases Effectually Cured by Boyd's Miniature Galvanic Battery! (1880).
Location:
Currently not on view
Credit Line:
From Milo Elso Emerson
ID Number:
MG.M-04999
Catalog number:
M-04999
Accession number:
161047
See more items in:
Medicine and Science: Medicine
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-632a-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_727991