Box 17

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Donated with card stating: "Branches of witch-hazel. Decoctions from which were used as effective abortifacients." Collected by Dr. Sam Morris, an African American physician from Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Tooth of some animal. Suspended from the neck, it was to insure victory over enemies." U.S. rural South. Early 20th century. These objects represent objects relating to popular medicine, collected by doctors in the rural South.

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Donated with card stating: "John the Conqueror. A piece of jointed root of an unidentified plant, to be chewed and spat out just before undertaking any severe task. It is believed to insure success in labor, love, and battle." Collected by Dr. Sam Morris, an African American physician, in Alabama. U.S. rural South, Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Yellow-root. A decoction made from this was used for purgation and stomach disorders. When worn in a bag hung from the neck, it was expected to prevent all intestinal diseases." Collected by Dr. Sam Morris, an African American physician from Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Indian turnip. Sliced and eaten with salt, it is widely used as an aphrodisiac." Collected by Dr. Sam Morris, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

Scope and Contents note Donated with card stating: "Irish Potatoes (2). "A black man nearing 80 used these two Irish potatoes for ten years or more as an effective preventative against rheumatism and lumbago, one for each disease. They are dry without being brittle, and seem petrified." U.S. rural South. Early 20th century. These objects represent objects relating to popular medicine, collected by doctors in the rural South. One of them, Dr. Sam Morris of Alabama, was a black physician who collected many amulets...

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Donated with card stating: "Sheeps' dung. Tea made from this was used to make measles break out." U.S. rural South. Early 20th century. These objects represent objects relating to popular medicine, collected by doctors in the rural South.

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Donated with card stating: "Coin (U.S. half dollar). Removed from the oesophageal constriction of a black woman who had accidentally swallowed it. She claimed to have used it successfully as an unfailing contraceptive measure, merely by retaining it in the mouth during coition. The coin had been conjured by an old conjuring man." U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Mole foot. Worn suspended from the neck to prevent venereal diseases." Collected by Dr. Sam Thelford, an African American physician from Boligee, Greene County, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "French silver franc worn by black woman of 75 on a cord around waist for ten years to 'prevent being conjured.' She believed that without it she would have been dead. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Half-dime (U.S.). Worn about the ankle by a black woman for twelve years to attract and retain lovers." Collected by African American physician B.B. Sims, Talladega, Alabama. U. S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Buzzard quills and copper amulet used to make teething easy." Collected by Dr. W.H. Harper, an African American physician from Selma, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Copper amulet used to make teething easy." Collected by Dr. W.H. Harper, an African American physician from Selma, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Rabbit tobacco--worn as a charm to prevent asthma. A decoction made from this plant was used for the treatment of asthma. U.S. rural South." U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Mole feet. A charm worn to ease teething. Copper pennies were supposed to neutralize baby scents." Collected by Dr. W.H. Harper, an African American physician from Selma, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "May apple root, the tea of which is used for all forms of 'stomach trouble.' Collected by Dr. William Groce Harrison, Birmingham, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Copper wire worn on the wrist to prevent all sickness and insure physical strength." Collected by Dr. Sam Thelford, an African American physician from Boligee, Greene County, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Buckeyes, worn on cord about the waist to prevent heart disease and to win the love of young women. Also used to prevent hemorrhoids." Collected by Dr. William Groce Harrison, Birmingham, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Copper penny and some unidentified bits of wood. A charm to make teething easy. Collected by Dr. W.H. Harper, an African American physician from Selma, Alabama. U.S. rural South. Early 20th century.

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Donated with card stating: "Copper pennies (two). These coins were worn around the neck by a black woman, age 45, as a neuralgic prophylaxis. They were reputed to have cured an attack; however, in the meantime some bad teeth had been removed." Collected by H.S. Castleman, an African American physician from Sylacauga, Alabama. U.S. rural south. Early 20th century.