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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Homeopathic Mutual Life Insurance Co. |
| Reference | 1981-114-29 |
| Library | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| Collection | The William H. Helfand Collection, 1981 |
| Date | 1870s |
| Document Type | Poster |
| Theme(s) | Homeopathy |
| Keywords | life insurance |
| Additional Information | The medical practice of homeopathy, introduced by the German physician Samuel Hahnermann at the close of the eighteenth century, has two basic tenets. The first holds that "like cures like" (similia similibus curantur), or that diseases or their symptoms are cured by agents producing similar pathologic effects in healthy individuals. The second is that drug potency is enhanced by infinitesimal doses, often measured in terms of millionths of full strength. Nineteenth-century insurance firms were not convinced of the validity of this approach to healing, however, and demanded higher premiums for patients not under the care of orthodox, or allopathic, physicians. Homeopaths resented the actuarial implication that their system of medicine was unduly hazardous, and thus specialized insurance firms, such as the Homeopathic Mutual Life Insurance Company, were reestablished to meet their patients' needs. William H. Helfand, from 'The Picture of Health: Images of Medicine and Pharmacy from the William H. Helfand Collection' (1991), p. 20. |
| Note | Please note that some of the metadata for this document has been drawn from the Philadelphia Museum of Art's catalogue. |
| Visual Content | View thumbnails |
| Copyright | Philadelphia Museum of Art |