Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones

Ann Anderson is a freelance writer, teacher, actor and director. Her articles and essays have appeared in Stage Directions, Prevention and Health, among many other publications. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

• Table of ContentsForeword by Heinrich R. Falk      1. Origins and Influences      2. Colonial and Pioneer Medicine Set the Stage for the Patent-Medicine Industry      3. Patent Medicines: Good for What Ails You      4. Museums, Circuses, and the Wild, Wild West      5. Blackface and Slapstick      6. That Old-Time Religion      7. Street Corners and Big Tents      8. Medicine—Show Life and Tricks of the Trade      9. Yahoo, Hadacol!      10. The Curtain Comes Down      Appendix I: “All Run Down”      Appendix II: “Heart Failure”      Appendix III: Temperance Songs      Chapter Notes      Bibliography      Index

“delightful, comprehensive, and well-documented”—Choice; “useful”—Public Library Quarterly; “well illustrated and documented, as well as entertaining”—C&RL News; “informative and entertaining...very readable...useful”—Medical History; “charming...amusing details”—Fate; “fascinating and well-written...excellent”—Journal of the History of Medicine; “complete and thorough”—The Trade Card Place; “a fascinating look at a bygone world”—Ashe Mountain Times.