Before the National Health Service of today, medicine and treatment were very expensive. The less well off in society would seek out men like ‘Professor' Ringwood who peddled his dubious wares at fairs and markets. With no trades description legislation to worry about these people made the most extravagant claims about their products.
Resplendent in top hat and morning coat the ‘Professor ‘ appears the typical Victorian physician (which he is not).
We have a large collection of genuine ‘quack ‘ cure bottles and much advertising material containing the claims made about them. Also displayed are some original mechanical gadgets that were sold to improve the health of our ancestors. The professor has a sideline in tooth pulling; audiences are always fascinated by dental equipment of yesteryear.
As with most of our presentations we find an amusing and educational talk of 30-minutes is most popular. The Victorians are part of the National Curriculum for schools.
