Indiana medical ephemera

Here's a sampling of vintage Indiana medical ephemera--one doctor and several pharmacists to fill the scripts. I doubt this is representative of Indiana medicine in the late 1800s, but it was an interesting enough sample to make it part of my collection.

The lone doctor in the bunch, Dr. L.C. Cline, refers to his practice as "limited to the Throat, Nose & Ear (a TNE?). Today, that would be Ear, Nose & Throat, or ENT for short. For long, try Otolaryngology, the medical specialty that treats diseases of the ear, nose & throat. And by the way, Otolaryngology is the oldest medical specialty in the United States.

Here's Dr. Cline's script for a patient. Note that his office address and his home address are printed on the form. It was a simpler time...


And here come the pharmacists, lined up to fill those scripts.

Peters and Shoemaker from Whitestown, November 14, 1890:


Jones' Drug Store in Greencastle, December 3, 1891:


Ray & Sourwine Druggists, Bowling Green, September 28, 1881:


Another one from Greencastle... C.W. Landes & Co. Druggists, July 20, 1881:


Buntin and Armstrong Chemists and Pharmacists, Terre Haute, July 21, 1881:


Allen's Drug Store, another Greencastle druggist, November 14, 1881:

Bullfight at the Juarez Bull Ring

The holder of this General Admission ticket to the Juarez Bull Ring was promised a "Great Bull Fight." Says so right on the ticket. For 50 cents American in 1935, one could take in a great bull fight across the border from El Paso. The Juarez Bull Ring is an historic arena, built sometime during the mid-19th century and later renamed the Alberto Balderas Bullring. I don't believe bullfighting goes on over there these days--there's another kind of fighting, and it's too dangerous for tourists. My wife grew up across the border and knew Juarez well enough. She showed me around when we were dating and after we were married. Used to be a fun place to go. Those days are gone like the bullfighting at the Juarez Bull Ring and even the other bull ring in town, Plaza de Toros Monumental, which was demolished to build a new Walmart, of all things. And that's no bull.