Brooks Rupture Appliance Company correspondence, 1909-1932

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Summary

Creator:
Brooks Rupture Appliance Company
Abstract:
Brooks Rupture Appliance Company manufactured cushioned belts that helped relieve pain from hernias. Collection consists of correspondence between Brooks Rupture Appliance Company and their customers, most of which are testimonials from customers who were happy with their purchases and felt that their hernias had been cured. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collection at Duke University.
Extent:
1.5 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13015

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of correspondence between Brooks Rupture Appliance Company and their customers, documenting some communication strategies and the success of the company's products. Most letters are testimonials from customers who were happy with their purchases and felt that their hernias had been cured. Some correspondents also referred relatives and friends to the company, while others wrote seeking advice for the maintenance or adjustment of their hernia belts. Envelopes are annotated, presumably by company staff, with information like order or customer numbers, if the letter references a "cure," if a child is the patient in question, or if a testimonial ("test") has been given. Beginning in 1927, letters from the company solicit permission to refer "cured" customers to government officials for interviews, allegedly to testify about the ability of the Brooks Rupture Appliances to cure hernias. Some correspondence includes carbon copies of the company's responses to their customers. Also scattered throughout the correspondence are items such as order forms, pieces of customer card files, and Brooks Rupture Appliance Company catalogs. One letter from 1926 contains a photograph of a child who had previously worn an appliance from the company.

Biographical / historical:

Brooks Rupture Appliance Company was founded by Charles E. Brooks (1843-1913) in Marshall, Michigan, likely in the early 1900s. The company manufactured cushioned belts or trusses for people suffering from hernias, or "ruptures." Brooks' son, Harold C. Brooks (1885-1978), took over as general manager in 1912 and worked to expand the company's business through advertising and communication campaigns. Brooks' Rupture Appliances could be worn by men, women, and children for inguinal, scrotal, femoral, and navel (umbilical) hernias. The appliances had cushioned pads that helped hold hernias in place to provide pain relief.

Source: "Brooks," Marshall History, Choose Marshall [Marshall Area Economic Development website], accessed 2023 July 31.

Acquisition information:
The Brooks Rupture Appliance Company correspondence was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Kate Mitas, Bookseller in 2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Leah Tams, July 2023.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2023-0114.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically by year.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Brooks Rupture Appliance Company correspondence, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1h155