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Dear Alan
Thank you very much for your response. I hope you don't mind, but I have
copied your response to the SHCG email list, as I thought it was quite
interesting and might be of interest to others who also discover they
have violet ray machines in their stores!
Alan's email:
Dear Adam
I'm afraid I can't add Anything much to what has already been said,
except
to say that the violet ray apparatus was apparently patented in the USA
in
1919, and that your example looks to be very early to me, say early-mid
1920's. I haven't seen one looking as early as this before, though the
Bakken Museum gives Rogers' dates as c.1930-1950 (perhaps their major
period
of medical manufacture?) so it may be from the late 20's.
We have 19 violet ray machines in our collection, but nothing earlier
than
the 1930's, and we do have one which was made in France about 1970! The
machines were still being sold by mainstream medical companies until the
late 1950's (1957 Thackray equipment catalogue), and the latest textbook
reference I have seen is in 1958 (Scott, P.M. (ed), Clayton's
electrotherapy
and actinotherapy, 3rd ed.) where the effects are stated to be 'mild
warmth
and a faint erythrema' [reddening of the skin from increased blood
supply].
The machine was also said to be most commonly used for the treatment of
alopecia [hair loss], when 'a glass condenser electrode in the shape of
a
comb is employed'.
There were many different electrodes (the largest set we have has 16,
though
I have seen sets with up to 30 different ones, including those made of
uranium glass which are mildly radioactive!) which were used either on
the
body surface or inserted into various body orifices.
Best wishes
Alan
Alan Humphries
Librarian
Thackray Museum
Beckett Street
Leeds, LS9 7LN
United Kingdom.
Gen Tel: 0113 244 4343
Direct Line: 0113 205 6529
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www.thackraymuseum.org
Adam Bell
Assistant Keeper
History
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums
South Shields Museum & Art Gallery
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South Shields NE33 2JA
Tel: +44(0)191 456 8740
Fax: +44(0)191 456 7850
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