Hall, Dr. William — Dr. William Hall's Balsam for the Lungs. First Edition

New York: late 19th Century. Color lithograph trade card. With cut-outs. 15.5 x 9.5cm. The following guest blog post was written by Varsha Jayaraman, Queen's Work Study Curatorial Assistant: In the mid-to-late ninteenth century, advertising trade cards were important for circulating information about patent medicines, or "over-the-counter" drugs. Dr. William Hall's Balsam was printed by the Donaldson Brothers of Five Points, New York, a popular advertiser from 1872 to 1891. Dr. Hall's Balsam for the Lungs, 1860, 996001411, Collection of the Museum of Health Care This company was well-known for their "metamorphic cards," which featured a "before and after" theme with a picture printed across one or more flaps forming the face of the card. The flap could then be folded and the composite picture changed. Often these metamorphic cards depicted an image of a sad face folded down to show a happy one, due to the cure advertised. .