Paper booklet with thicker green cover advertising and explaining the many uses of the VeeDee; the front has two facsimiles of the device being used; inside it has a long list of important people who used it, how to use it for what complaint, often with diagrams to show where it should be applied; …
Paper booklet with thicker green cover advertising and explaining the many uses of the VeeDee; the front has two facsimiles of the device being used; inside it has a long list of important people who used it, how to use it for what complaint, often with diagrams to show where it should be applied; 27 double-sided pages.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Purchased by Dr. M. Chiong for his patent medicine collection, before July 15, 1995.
Date of the letter on the back is 1908, so probably within a year or two; sticker claims 1910, but probably earlier since Portugal became a republic in 1910 ("who uses it" page)
Material
paper: black; green; red
Inscriptions
"THE VEEDEE // AND // HOW TO USE IT // For // CURATIVE VIBRATION, // VIBRATORY MASSAGE, // NERVE STIMULATION, // and // BLOOD CIRCULATING, // In various complaints, etc., with // Special Chapters, relating to // its uses for the // TOILET. // THE VEEDEE COMPANY // 96 Southwark Street, London, S.E. // PRICE SIXPENCE"; see Description, above, for what is inside
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-G Chiong Trade Cards Binder B
Dimension Notes
Length: 20.2 cm. x Width: 13.5 cm. x Depth: 0.2 cm.
Condition Remarks
Some of the fist pages are torn, bent, etc., and entire booklet appears to have been bent in half at one point; some age/sun discolouration, especially the edges; black mark on bottom right, front cover; staples slightly rusty
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Website
Reference Comments
Science Museum: Brought to Life, Exploring the History of Medicine: http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display?id=92807
Research Facts
The “Veedee” vibratory massager claimed to cure colds, digestive complaints and flatulence through ‘curative vibration’. The name is thought to come from the Latin phrase, “Veni Vidi Vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”). During the late 1800s, massage was considered effective for combating almost any affliction, from headaches to female “hysteria”. Similar massage tools were advertised often in magazines and newspapers.