The November 5, 1896 edition of The Chatham Record carried this odd advertisement on its rear page. The copy hawks a book that identifies the “easily-distinguished Symptoms of different Diseases, the Causes, and Means of Preventing such Diseases, and the Simplest Remedies which will alleviate or cure.” The ad further contends that the book will teach the basic tenets of “Courtship, Marriage and the Production and Rearing of Healthy Families; together with Valuable Recipes and Prescriptions, Explanations of Botanical Practice, Correct Use of Ordinary Herbs.”
Having promised the serenity of knowledge, the ad ends with a warning: “With this Book in the house there is no excuse for not knowing what to do in an emergency. Don’t wait until you have an illness in your family before you order, but send at once for this valuable volume.”
But what’s going on in this illustration? Is it an early variant on the Heimlich Maneuver, or an “emergency disciplinary session”?
