Medicine Man: The forgotten museum of Henry Wellcome
26 June – 16 November 2003
Room 5
Exhibition closed
Henry Wellcome, the great entrepreneur and philanthropist, also built up the world's largest collection of medical exhibits. By his death in 1936, he had amassed an extraordinary collection of over one million objects related to medical history, ranging from diagnostic dolls and Japanese sex aids to African masks and amputation saws, from amulets and ancient manuscripts to Napoleon's toothbrush and George III's hair.
Their exhibition brings together the treasures of this vast collection and explores the history of our bodies, in sickness and in health.
A Wellcome Trust exhibition at the British Museum.
Image: Chastity belt with lock, 16th century © Wellcome Library, London