Worn Over Time

Guessing game for antique tools and objects.

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Electric Flesh Brush

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Englishman, Dr. George A. Scott, was a prolific advertiser of the Electric Flesh Brush and other quack products in late nineteenth century America. His amazing brushes and other devices all contained magnetized iron. In brushes and combs, three magnetic iron rods ran from the handle to the brush embedded inside. These magnetic rods were the apparent key to treating all kinds of ailments including constipation, malarial lameness, rheumatism, diseases of the blood, paralysis, and hair loss. The confusion of the general population over magnetism and electricity served Dr. Scott well in his advertising campaigns. Rather than call his brushes and combs magnetic, they were truly electric![1]


(Source Image URL from dailymail.co.uk)

The rare brass object below is the infamous Oxydonor patented in 1890 by Dr. H. Sanche. Claimed to cure everything, it simply gave you the "chills" through heat transfer. The compass above was a marketing tool to show that Dr. George A. Scott's Electric Flesh brush worked. There was nothing "electric" about it. The brush simply had 3 magnetic rods inside that disrupted the compass reading. These doctors, aka medical quacks, knew that beautiful useless items sell. #whatisitwednesday #whatisit #whatsit #antiques #antique #curiosity #curiosities #oddity #oddities #mystery #museum #history #cabinetofcuriosities #cabinetofcuriosity #whatthemuseum #wunderlust #wunderlusting #wunderkammer #weirdantiques #unusualantiques #antiquedoctor #doctorslife #doctors #doctor #doctorbag #doctorvisit #doctorsappt

A post shared by Worn Over Time (@worn_over_time) on Aug 15, 2017 at 12:49am PDT

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