Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Lancaster, Charles and Johnson, Russell A.
- Extent:
- 1 item (1 ledger)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Charles Lancaster ledger (Collection 1245). Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The manuscript ledger of Dr. Charles Lancaster (1808-1903), a physician, lawyer, and author in Newark, New Jersey, documents his recipes for and trade in medical remedies, and as an "electro-medical specialist". The ledger begins with a "list of medicines in Nathan Harper's Box", alongside recipes for "Electric Fluid", "for suppression of menses", and "for Rheumatism".
This is followed by lists of purchases: "Account of Stock, September 1st, 1855" (books); "Stationery", and "Draining and painting materials". Beginning September 1855, Lancaster begins a long record of purchases and charges for services rendered (visits and examinations, syringes, compresses, etc.), then the sale of medical remedies including Keswick's cough syrup, Queen liniment, Catarrh Remedy, and rheumatism medicine. A printed advertisement, laid in, identifies "Catarrh Remedy" and "Prescription for the Blood" as two of the "Lancaster Remedies" prepared solely by him, for sale at the principal showroom in Newark and his residence in East Orange.
Patients hailing from throughout New Jersey, as well as Staten Island and Pennsylvania, are identified by name throughout the journal. Lancaster's biggest seller for a number of years is "Vital Tonic", often abbreviated "V.T.", presumably from a formula of his own making; Vital Tonic also is sold in large quantities to numerous buyers, including some pharmacists.
His own purchases include multiple entries for ammonia and sulfuric acid--presumably for use in the preparation of remedies--as well as some items for personal and household consumption. Battery-related entries appear more regularly as the journal progresses. A handwritten slip, partially cut-away, appears to be the draft of a handbill or advertisement promoting himself as an "Electro-Medical Specialist" and offering his services to treat insanity "(the patient being in condition to receive my treatment), free of charge, till cured."
The latter part of the journal includes entries for inserting advertisements in local New Jersey publications such as the "Newark Journal" and "Elizabeth Journal". Also present are dealings with the William M. Townley Drug Co. of Newark; McKesson and Robbins; and hospitals.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Russell A. Johnson, 2017.
- Processing information:
-
This collection was previously assigned the collection number Biomed 706. As of December 2020, this collection has been assigned the new collection number Biomed 1245.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's Library Collections and Archives.
- Physical location:
- Held at UCLA Library Special Collections. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Names:
- Johnson, Russell A.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Charles Lancaster ledger (Collection 1245). Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History and Special Collections for the Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
-
Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library12-077 Center for Health Sciences, Box 951798Los Angeles, CA 90095-1798, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-6940