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Guide to the American Medical Association Historical Health Fraud Collection

Historical health fraud and alternative medicine collection
The nation's finest collection on medical quackery is the result of nearly seventy years of activity by the AMA's Department of Investigation. The collection contains close to 1,000 boxes of advertising pamphlets, letters, product containers, and actual equipment relating to more than 3,500 practitioners, products, and businesses that the AMA investigated between 1906 and 1975. Frequently used to compare present and past quackery practices, the collection has provided vital information for countless books, papers, and documents.

Access to this collection is provided at no charge to AMA members. In addition, this is the only AMA Archive collection that is open to collegiate and historical researchers from the public. Public access to this collection will be provided according to an established fee schedule.

Guide to the collection:
Folder lists—The following folder lists are arranged alphabetically and cover approximately 75 major topics available for research:

• Abrams, Albert to drug and medicine companies  (PDF, 1.8MB)
• Drug and medicine companies continued to imposters  (PDF, 1.9MB)
• Imposters continued to name file  (PDF, 1.5MB)
• Name file continued to rejuvenation  (PDF, 1.7MB)
• Rejuvenation continued to Western Medical Association files followed by the container list for oversize posters  (PDF, 1.8MB)

Indexes - The following indexes show the serial number(s) of the abstract(s) included in the Guide on the subject in question.  The index entries refer to abstract numbers, not page numbers. 

• Topical subject index  - Listings of topics such as "Tuberculosis,"  "Hair preparations," and "Cancer cures"  (PDF, 832KB)
• Personal name index - Names of persons  (PDF, 1.7MB)
• Corporate name index - Names of companies, committees, organizations, conferences, meetings, and the like
  Corporate name index (A thru H)  (PDF, 1.9MB)
  Corporate name index (H thru S)  (PDF, 2MB)
  Corporate name index (S thru Z)   (PDF, 821KB)

• Product name index - Names of medicines, devices, treatments, and the like  (PDF, 1.4MB)
• Geographic index - Names of countries, states, cities, and other places  (PDF, 57KB)
• Title index - Names of books, periodicals, radio and television programs, and the like  (PDF, 691KB)

How do I research the Historical Health Fraud Collection and does the Archives charge any fees?
AMA members pay no use fees and no fees to photocopy small amounts of archival materials.

Non-members will pay a per/carton fee for use of the Historical Health Fraud and Alternative Medicine Collection, which is stored offsite due to the size of the collection. Non-members will pay $43 dollars for the first carton of material they wish to view and $2.25 for each additional carton to cover transportation costs. Researchers may request up to 20 cartons at one time. Onsite researchers may also request photocopies from the Health Fraud Collection at a cost of $1.00 per page.

After identifying the collection material you would like to view, contact the AMA Archives office at (312) 464-4083 or archives@ama-assn.org to set up an appointment to visit the AMA Archives. Archives staff will coordinate the research request. Researchers will be required to complete an AMA Letter of Agreement form stating the intended use of the materials and make note of the Archives use terms. This form must be returned via fax at (312) 464-5826 or mail to the Archives office at 515 N. State Street, Chicago, IL, 60654. Historical Health Fraud materials may only be viewed at the AMA Archives office in Chicago.

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