Four White Horses and a Brass Band
eBook - ePub

Four White Horses and a Brass Band

True Confessions from the World of Medicine Shows, Pitchmen, Chumps, Suckers, Fixers, and Shills

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Four White Horses and a Brass Band

True Confessions from the World of Medicine Shows, Pitchmen, Chumps, Suckers, Fixers, and Shills

About this book

Violet McNeal ran away from her family's rural Minnesota farm in the late 1880s and fell under the spell of conman and patent medicine "doctor" Will Archimbauld who hooked her on opium and promises of fame and fortune. Violet soon learned to become Princess Lotus Blossom and was the best pitchman, nostrum seller, and conwoman to roam the west in a torch-lit wagon. Four White Horses and a Brass Band is Violet's story of life on the road with the medicine show and reveal the secrets of conman's trade. Sick and nearly dead with addiction by age 30, she submits to the tortures of withdrawal and the "cure" to create a new life. First published in 1947, the Feral House edition features an extensive afterword on the history of the patent medicine trade and evolution of the lure of miracle cures and healers. Also included are a glossary of the grifter's cant and samples of scripts used by Violet and other infamous "doctors".

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Yes, you can access Four White Horses and a Brass Band by Violet McNeal in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & North American History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Copyright
  3. Title Page
  4. Contents
  5. 1. Making Medicine
  6. 2. Only Suckers Work
  7. 3. Perfume Beans and Pickpockets
  8. 4. Tapeworms and Tiger Fat
  9. 5. A Fifty-Cent Flop and a One-Dollar Toy
  10. 6. Princess Lotus Blossom
  11. 7. The Yokohama Medical Institute
  12. 8. “For Men Only”
  13. 9. The Tattooed Dragon
  14. 10. “…The First Man that Comes Into the Office…”
  15. 11. The Dago was a Jealous Man
  16. 12. Cocaine Bugs
  17. 13. Rejuvenation
  18. Appendices