Fat and Blood and How to Make Them

In 1877, Philadelphia neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell published Fat and Blood, and How to Make Them, the medical text that popularized the infamous Rest Cure for nervous women. (Exact month of publication unknown; if you have information about the correct date, please email felluga@purdue.edu with this information.) Principle elements of the cure included bed rest, force feeding, isolation, massage, and electrical stimulation of muscles. Image: Photograph of Silas Weir Mitchell, 1881. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.