A Boon For Brain Workers

After I write up a ghost story or historic true crime case, I like to take a break - just like my readers, I'm sure! - and do some short posts. They will be about advertisements, patent medicines, Victorian classified ads, and maybe a little bit of vaudeville and circus history.

I am also going to look into the lives and secrets of a couple of peripheral characters who I encountered when writing up the Gravesend Poisoning Case. And there's a possible copycat case from October 1878 in New Utrecht which looks interesting.

But for now, here's something else that is both interesting and more fashionable than a bottle of Advil (which is difficult to wear, unless you make it into a necklace): Hill's Genuine Magnetic Anti-Headache Cap.

You may emit lightning bolts from your forehead when you wear it, but it is a boon and a sure cure for all Brain Workers!

The caps were made of silk, ran on Hill's Grand Medal Magnetic Storage Batteries and cost $3. Hill says that he has "bushels of testimonials," even though he doesn't share any of them in this advertisement.

Not only will it cure headaches but the cap will also supply you with "Brain-food," make you see better and possibly cure motion sickness when you are traveling by train. A remarkable hat, indeed.

The inventor was probably Edwin A. Hill of Reading, Massachusetts, who also invented a magnetic pen-holder in 1890. He had an electric brush company in 1889, when he wrote Hill's researches in magnetism. The headache cap probably dates from the 1890s, as Hill would have expanded his repertoire from electric brushes (which were being made by other such as Dr. George A. Scott) to more original products. And this cap is certainly original - if nothing else.

For a look at some other historic wacky hats, you can go and have a look over here at the Vacuum Fez and the Traveller's Cap.

Image is from the Library of Congress.