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Introduction

This on-line version of Here Today, Here Tomorrow... presents a variety of printed medical ephemera from the collections of William H. Helfand and the National Library of Medicine. The exhibit was held at the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, May 22 through September 11, 1995.

The exhibit presents a lively and colorful collection of medical and pharmaceutical ephemera, dating from the 18th century to the present and contains nearly 400 items, including posters, informational pamphlets, trade cards, handbills, postcards, broadsides, and other types of printed ephemera. Over 140 representative items are displayed in this online exhibit. The exhibit is organized around a number of themes and categories - women, children, the medicine show, public health, AIDS, tuberculosis, medical education, and addiction. Also highlighted is a rich and varied collection of medical, dental, and pharmaceutical bookplates.

Here Today, Here Tomorrow... is designed to celebrate the importance of medical ephemera, those transitory and commonplace documents of everyday life which were not meant to survive, but surprisingly did. Tickets of admission to events long past, posters warning about unsafe health practices, advertisements for products no longer marketed, and booklets reviewing medical procedures and practices no longer necessary serve as reminders of an earlier time and offer insights to the historical past in a direct and revealing way.

Much of the ephemera displayed in this exhibit is plainly utilitarian, but certain items such as engraved trade cards or chromolithograph sheet music covers are attractive and have a certain measure of artistic appeal. But the content outweighs the form in adding to our understanding of medical activities of the past and present. Contemporary medical ephemera, such as that generated in response to the AIDS epidemic, sends a forceful reminder of this continuing public health crisis. Posters, bumper stickers, educational pamphlets, political leaflets and informational buttons are testimony to the massive outreach efforts aimed at all levels of society to inform and educate the public in preventive measures, as well as to provide hope and support for the victims of the epidemic.

Last reviewed: 17 October 2006
Last updated: 17 October 2006
First published: 19 May 1998
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanent: Stable Content