Conditions Governing Access
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Scope and Contents
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Rev. Charles Wesley Parsons correspondence
Creator:
Parsons, Charles Wesley, Rev.
Source:
Walkabout Books
Identifier/Call Number: Biomed.0373
Physical Description:
1 unknown
(1 collection)
Date (inclusive): 1895-1902
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Unprocessed collection. Material is unavailable for access. Please contact Special Collections reference (spec-coll@library.ucla.edu)
for more information.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Scope and Contents
"A fascinating archive of letters from Rev. Charles Wesley Parsons (1851-1907) to his close friend Henry M. Quackenbush (1847-1933),
gun manufacturer and inventor of the extension ladder and the nutcracker. Once a highly respected Methodist Episcopal minister,
by his late forties Parsons had begun to suffer severely from both the symptoms and the treatment of tic douloureux (also
called trigeminal neuralgia), a neurologic disorder that causes intense pain in the face. The pain was treated with topical
cocaine, which over time caused Parsons to experience paranoia and hallucinations. In series of letters written to Quackenbush
between 1895 and 1902, Parsons writes repeatedly of being watched in his home, followed by detectives and 'sneaks,' and harassed
by gangs and policemen. On January 28, 1902, he told Quackenbush he was out of cocaine and desperate for more to ease the
pain, asking 'Will you please (I beg) send me by the quickest way possible (mail, I think best) one oz. of cocaine.' The next
letter thanks his friend for the package, saying the pain has diminished, but reports that they tapped the wires of our telephone,
put a microphone on and heard every word spoken in our house. And on March 9: 'I am cutting down, and by summer will hardly
use any at all. ... This is the last time I'll ask it of you, I feel sure -- just mail me one more oz. of cocaine.' The archive
includes 17 letters and a postcard from Parsons to Quackenbush (three typed and the rest handwritten, c. 70 pages in all),
as well as 3 letters to Quackenbush from a mutual friend, expressing concern that Parsons' 'brain power' is failing and enclosing
two postcards he received from Parsons complaining of abuse by the police."--Antiquarian bookseller's description, 2016.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Walkabout Books