Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Access by appointment only. Where a listening copy or viewing copy has been created, this is indicated in the respective inventory; additional materials may be accessible with sufficient advance notice and, in some cases, payment of a processing fee. Older papers are housed at a remote location and may require a minimum of three weeks' advance notice and payment of a retrieval fee. Certain formats such as multi-track audio recordings and EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) may not be accessible. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at 202-633-7322 or rinzlerarchives@si.edu for additional information.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1984 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection documents through correspondence, reprints of general articles, reports of Congressional committees, and materials relating to a U.S. patent and testimonials Morton's claims to priority in the discovery of the anesthetic properties of ether in medical and surgical procedures.
Scope and Contents:
The material in the collection was gathered by Morton's son, W. J. Morton, in defense of his father's character and work, and presented to the Smithsonian Institution by him on April 2, 1918. It includes correspondence, reprints of articles from medical and surgical journals, other publications, reports of congressional committees, materials relating to securing a U.S. patent, and testimonials on behalf of Morton's claim. Many of the articles and other publications relate to the controversy concerning priority in discovery of the anesthetic properties of ether in connection with medical and surgical procedures. A number are the work of contemporaries. Much of the material now in the collection is in reasonably good condition, particularly the books and many of the reprints. Many handwritten documents however show evidence of extensive water damage and some are illegible.
A report of a Smithsonian committee on condemnation on November 1, 1927 recommended destruction of' three trunks in which the Morton materials were shipped. These trunks had been stored in a damp cellar before coming to the Museum and many of the documents were so damaged as to be illegible. Such papers were destroyed with the trunks. Another committee on condemnation was appointed in April, 1955 to report on the disposal of duplicate printed materials in the Division of Medicine and Public Health no longer needed for either exhibit or study purposes. On April 20, 1955 this committee recommended transfer of such material from the Morton collection to the Armed Forces Medical Library for distribution to medical libraries throughout the country through their exchange services.
The material has been organized into two series: (1) letters and documents arranged alphabetically by subject and (2) publications arranged alphabetically by author if known or by subject if no author is designated. A bound volume of many of the pamphlets available as single publications is part of the collection. The numbers found at the end immediately following the # are the numbers stamped on the publications when they were received by the Archives Center.
Several of the documents which are listed as part of the collection are on exhibit in "Pain and Its Relief," an exhibition at the National Museum of American History. Several others, listed in the accession file or a descriptive list were not among the materials received by the Archives Center, and have been listed as missing. Where descriptive cards prepared by an intern were sent to the Archives Center, they have been filed with the pertinent document.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in two series.
Series 1: Letters and Documents, 1849-1866
Series 2: Publications, 1849-1911
Biographical / Historical:
William Thomas Green Morton was born on August 9, 1819 in Charlton, a village in Worcester Co., Massachusetts. He was the son of James Morton, a farmer of Charlton, and his wife Rebecca, a daughter of William Needham of Charlton.
Young William had a New England common school education at Northfield and Leicester Academies. In 1836 at the age of seventeen he went to work as a clerk and salesman in various business houses in Boston. Finding such employment of little interest, however, he enrolled in the College of Dental Surgery in Baltimore, Maryland in 1840. In the winter of 1842-1843, William Morton and Horace Wells, who had begun to practice dentistry in Hartford, Connecticut in 1836, practiced together in Boston. This partnership turned out to be unprofitable and was dissolved in the fall of 1843. Wells returned to Hartford; Morton stayed in Boston.
In March 1844 William Morton began studying medicine with Dr. Charles T. Jackson and later continued his studies at the Harvard Medical School. He also married in 1844. He did not complete Harvard's degree requirements but in 1852 was awarded an M.D. degree "honoris causa" by the Washington University of Medicine, later the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore.
During 1844 while the dentist and aspiring physician was studying with Dr. Jackson, Jackson demonstrated before his chemistry classes that inhalation of sulfuric ether causes loss of consciousness. William Morton who had continued his practice during his medical studies for financial reasons, was especially interested in the manufacture of artificial teeth and was, therefore, concerned with lessening the pain of extraction of roots. He had tried various methods such as intoxicants, opium and mesmerism but none was effective. Morton tried inhalation of sulfuric ether on himself and during the summer of 1846 he anaesthetized goldfish, a hen and his pet spaniel. They all recovered and the dentist was ready to use ether on patients. The painless extraction of an ulcerated tooth on September 30, 1846 was written up in the Boston Daily Journal of October 1, 1846. Following the newspaper accounts, Henry J. Bigelow, a Boston surgeon affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital and John Collins Warren, the surgical chief at Massachusetts General invited Morton to demonstrate his discovery there. The removal of a tumor by Dr. Warren from the neck of a patient successfully anaesthetized by Dr. Morton on October 16, 1846 was followed the next day by a second successful anesthesia and surgery by Dr. George Hayward. After several weeks of further trials, H. J. Bigelow announced Morton's discovery in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal on November 18, 1846.
On October 27, 1846, shortly after the first demonstration, Morton and Jackson applied for a patent which was issued November 12, 1846. They did not reveal that the anesthetic agent was sulfuric ether although it soon became apparent. On the application for patent it was labeled "Letheon". Patent No. 4848 was issued on November 12, 1846.
In 1847 a memorial to the Congress of the U.S. by the physicians and surgeons of Boston requested compensation to the discoverer of the anesthetic uses of ether, William T. G. Morton. Since this petition resulted in no action, Morton himself petitioned the Congress for financial reward. Two bills appropriating $200,000 for the discovery of practical anesthesia were introduced into three sessions of Congress but none passed. Supporters of Charles T. Jackson, Horace Wells and Crawford W. Long, each of whom had participated to some extent in the discovery of inhalation anesthesia, started a controversy which continued for years. Congressional committee and subcommittee concern dragged on for nearly two decades without fruition. Dr. Morton's last twenty years were spent in controversy and litigation although several of the plans for compensating him resulted in honor if not in funds. He died of apoplexy at forty-nine, on July 15, 1869.
Among early honors awarded to Dr. Morton was the Montyon Prize of 5,000 French francs awarded jointly to him and Dr. Jackson by the French Academy of Sciences. Morton refused the award saying the discovery for which it was granted was his and his alone. A testimonial of $1,000 from the trustees of the Massachusetts General Hospital was accepted. He received the Order of Wasa of Sweden and Norway and the Order of St. Vladimir of Russia for his contribution to science. There were testimonials by the medical profession in several cities. His name is inscribed among those of illustrious sons of Massachusetts in the Dome of the Hall of Representatives in the State House in Boston and among those on the facade of the Boston Public Library.
Crawford Long, Horace Wells and Charles T. Jackson all played a part in the discovery of surgical anesthesia but William T. G. Morton became the best known of the contenders for priority of discovery. The controversy among them continued for years and was never clearly resolved.
Dr. William H. Welch, Johns Hopkins University Medical School, gave a definitive address at the Massachusetts General Hospital on the introduction of surgical anesthesia on the 62nd anniversary of Ether Day (October 16, 1908). According to Dr. Welch, Dr. Crawford Long of Jefferson, Jackson Co. Georgia in March 1842 removed a small tumor from the neck of a patient anaesthetized with ether, and performed eight more minor operations under ether in the next Lcour years. He delayed publication however until several years after the universal acceptance of surgical anesthesia and published details are sketchy. Until Long's work became known, Horace Wells was generally credited with first using inhalation anesthesia--nitrous oxide. The failure of an important experiment resulted in Wells abandoning his experiments and withdrawing from the practice of dentistry. He later took his own life. Dr. Welch considered Wells' work "...a direct and important link in the chain of discovery which led ... to the universal adoption of surgical anesthesia."1 After careful review of the evidence and the opinions of Morton's medical contemporaries, Dr. Welch gave major honors for the discovery to Morton. 2
1. Welch, William H., M..D., A Consideration of the Introduction of Surgical Anesthesia, The Barta Press, Boston, undated, p. 11
2. Ibid.
Provenance:
Donated by William J. Morton, son of William T. G. Morton in 1921.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
34.05 Cubic feet (consisting of 60 boxes, 14 half boxes, 9 folders, 38 oversize folders, 12 map case folders, plus digital images of some collection material.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Ephemera
Business ephemera
Date:
1832-1966
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Patent Medicines forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists primarily of advertising cards, pamphlets, leaflets, booklets, calendars, post cards, printed advertisements , medical newspaper articles, blotters, almanacs, cookbooks, scattered correspondence on letterhead stationery, medical journals, labels, bills/receipts, business cards, import/export documents, recipe books, reports, reviews, editorials, lectures, family manuals, notices, circulars, memorandum & account books, order forms, lithographs, photographs, caricatures song books and articles from manufacturers of proprietary medicines and wholesale and retail drug dispensers. There is a substantial amount of material from each company relating to the medical treatment of various diseases. Companies with a large amount of material include James C. Ayer, Foster, Milburn Company, C. T. Hood, Johnson and Johnson, Lehn and Fink, Lyons Manufacturing Company, Miles Medical Company, Parke Davis, Lydia Pinkham, Power Taylor Drug Company, Rumford Chemical Works, S. T. W. Stanford and Son, Seabury and Johnson, W. H. Schieflein and Company, E. R. Squibb and Sons and H.H. Warner.
Included within the collection are pamphlets on various disease entities, societies and institutes, chiropractic, homeopathy, hygiene and health and martial behavior. Doctors are listed in a separate section. Most of the material is organized by name of company. The first 51 boxes contain material from manufacturers of proprietary medicines and is arranged in alphabetical order. This material consists mostly of advertising cards, testimonials and various advertising leaflets. Many manufacturers published almanacs and other publication s with health and household hints. This material covers the nineteenth century; however, most of it is undated. Boxes 52 thru 58 are documents from wholesale and retail drug dispensers including invoices, booklets, almanacs and leaflets dating from 1800 thru 1926. Box 59 contains a large ledger with pasted cards and advertising material from various manufacturers, wholesalers and druggists. Medical publications are in boxes 60 to 64 and consist of journals with multiple articles regarding various diseases and their treatment. This material dates from 1859-1937. Contained in boxes 65 and 66 are pharmaceutical publications, state journals, national journals and other pharmaceutical booklets dating from 1856-1933. In box 66 folder number 13 there is a publication by Abbott Laboratories, printed in 1956, is a comprehensive summary of the first 50 years of the Pure Food and Drug act. Also in box 66 folders 14, 15, and 16 are journals of the Homeopathic News from 1895 to 1902, and Homeopathic Envoy dated 1901. In the last folder is an 1804 issue of Phrenology and Physiognomy. The entire box number 67 contains only copies of the Pharmaceutical Era with dates from 1890 to 1903. A collection of medical pamphlets, leaflets and booklets cover a variety of medical problems as well as diagnosis and their medical treatment in boxes 68 and 69. Miscellaneous materials in box 70 include prescription s, photographs, chromolithographs, etchings and engravings and information about the Pasteur Institute and vaccines developed at that facility. In box 71 there are some medical- legal papers and import export documents. Box 72 contains many miscellaneous medical materials. Newspaper clippings, medical economics, U.S. revenue order forms and instructions. Treatment articles and forms for ordering journals and other medical publications. Printing companies, catering to druggists for labels, letterheads and other related printing needs, along with labeling samples are contained in box 73. The last box contains foreign language medical material. In this group are articles and advertising written in Chinese, German, French, Hungarian, Spanish and Swedish.
Additional information may be found in the subject labeled medicine.
This material contains information on diseases, x-ray, instruments, insanity, tuberculosis, cancer, female medicine, medical schools, anesthetics (ether).
Biographical / Historical:
Before the Pure Food and Drug Administration was instituted in 1908 there were no restrictions on the claims or contents of medications available to the public without a physician prescription. This is reflected in the advertisements and testimonials as seen in this material. Many of the companies manufactured and distributed other products such as cosmetics, hair preparations and dyes; therefore researchers interested in chemical substances other than medical treatments would also be interested in this subject. The material dates from ca. 1800-1956 but, the bulk is late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Many diseases in the 19th century were known by names not currently used at this time. Throughout much of the material consumption which is known as tuberculosis was of great concern. Other diseases include kidney ailments (renal disease) referred to as Bright's disease, catarrh referred to the common cold, bronchitis, or sinusitis, gleet discharge from any body area used for example in gonorrhea and syphilis and scrophula glandular diseases many times accompanied by eruptions. Diseases that were considered curable by many of the medications described in this collection were catarrh, Bright's disease, anemia, syphilis, female diseases, gonorrhea, nervousness, tiredness and listlessness, headaches, weight loss, backaches, alcoholism, masturbation, typhoid, malaria, children's diseases and narcotic addiction.
Materials in the Archives Center:
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Patent Medicines is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form:
Ephemera
Business ephemera
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Patent Medicines, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Morton Family Collection, 1849-1911, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Morton Family Collection, 1849-1911, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Morton Family Collection, 1849-1911, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
