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Edward Parker Read (1868?-1944) was a Black pharmacist, jurist, entrepreneur and activist based in the Philadelphia area. Collection includes flyers, mailers, postcards, pamphlets and broadsides that advertise a range of products and services provided by Edward Reads's several business entities: patent medicines; herbal remedies; mineral-spring tonics; sanitarium facilities; palm readings; perpetual calendars; and ready-reference encyclopedias. Company and product names reflect contemporary interests in health spas, folk medicine; spiritualism; and Native American imagery. Materials also reflect an interest in economic development and social networking within the Black community. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collection, the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture, and the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History

Collection comprises 9 pages of medical case notes for eight individuals, seven of whom required surgery. One case history is incomplete. There are men and women, adults and children, and black and white individuals among the patients. Appendicitis was the most common complaint, but there is mention of gangrene, bladder trouble, and Pott's disease. Case notes include name of patient, symptoms and past treatment, and details of the operation, although no mention of the success of the procedure is provided.