Exhibit | Cure Yourself by Electricity!

Cure Yourself by Electricity! Personal Electrotherapeutic Devices in Canada and Beyond c. 1880s-1930s

Cure Yourself by Electricity showcases the history of portable electrotherapeutic devices during the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. Through objects, advertising, and print culture, the exhibit explores the relationship between electric technologies and the body, gendered medical consumerism, and health in popular culture. Featuring devices, texts, and images from the Osler Library of the History of Medicine and the Museum of Healthcare at Kingston, Cure Yourself by Electricity will delight viewers with its presentation of these peculiar devices.

Exhibition Curated by Dr. Maia Isabelle Woolner.

Exhibition on display in the McLennan Library Lobby during Opening Hours.

Dr. Maia Isabelle Woolner is a historian and storyteller. Her work in the history of science and medicine investigates why we think the way we do about health and illness, and in particular, mental illness. With a focus on image-making, timekeeping, measurement practices, and patient narratives, her research seeks to connect the history of psychiatry and psychology to broader movements in culture and society.