These clippings are from a newspaper called The Boston Sunday Advertiser, from February 15, 1931. It was a small society-type newspaper that had articles on theater shows and various local events, stories, comics, contests, etc. The front page story on Washington and Lincoln seemed out of place.
I had thought this was the Sunday version of the The Boston Daily Advertiser, but that stopped publication a decade earlier. So I have no idea really what this is.
Here’s the front page. I guess Lincoln was asleep for this portrait:
An ad for weight loss. I’ll bet this never worked, but at least they let you try it out:
An other scammy product. The only thing these were lucky for were sticking things onto your refrigerator:
To give you an idea on these prices, $10 in 1931 is roughly $155 in 2017. So really, these prices aren’t too different now:
One of the most poorly-conceived company names:
I think “rupturing” is an old term, relating to a woman’s monthly friend. I Googled around for but I didn’t feel like going too deep:
“Piles” is a polite term for “hemorrhoids.” God help you if you maneuvered that twisty thing up there:
An illustration that accompanied a short story. It’s a great picture, de-contextualized:
Microfiction existed back then:
And more:
3 Comments
Here’s a comment emailed to me from Christine, who couldn’t leave a comment for one reason or another:
I learned, also, that it’s “a hernia,” not “ahernia” as I previously thought (I don’t think I ever read the disorder until her email, just heard it spoken). And that it’s mostly dudes that get it.
Additional info: I took the time to research that ad and the company behind it. So far as I can tell, the company no longer exists, but they made trusses for various types of hernias. There is one that only women get — femoral hernia — which leaves a tender bulge rather high in the crease between leg and groin as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. Early medical devices for this were barbaric, barely better than nothing.
Current treatments for hernia are pretty darn barbaric too. The mesh used for surgical repair can get “lost” in the body or adhere to organs, leading to life long pain, infection and potentially death. For the record, there are old herbal treatments, like compresses, that can be very helpful to keep hernias in check or even cure them (something current medical practice calls impossible). Yoga is helpful too.
Nevertheless, there are still cases a hernia can be fatal, so it’s not something anyone should be overconfident about. Yet another reason to keep ourselves in good physical condition!