John Vaughan to Thomas Jefferson, 11 December 1818
From John Vaughan
Philad. 11 Dec. 1818
Dr sir.
I have your favor of 7th & feel no Small satisfaction once more to hear from you after Your severe indisposition—I hope nothing of it remains—Mr Appleton wrote to me that he missed the Bill—My Clerk who saw it made up says it was certainly put in—a Second Copy went via New York—& I have now sent the two remaining ones. Via Marseilles & Havre—I trust he is long since in possession of the Dft—
Jn Vaughan
M Cooper mentioned a Swelling which wanted to be discussed.1 There is a plaister here which Dr Physic & others used—called Mahy’s plaster, introducd at my instigation which is very powerful in its effects—Should any thing of the Kind be wanted, let me have the pleasure of sending it—
RC (MHi); at head of text: “Thomas Jefferson Monticello”; endorsed by TJ as received 17 Dec. 1818 and so recorded in SJL.
mahy’s plaster was purportedly invented in France in 1713 under the name of “Divine Ointment” or “Divine Plaster Cloth” and brought in about 1793 to Philadelphia. Sold there as Mahy’s Plaster Cloth by multiple purveyors using varying ingredients, it was touted as a cure for a wide range of medical conditions (Philadelphia Franklin Gazette, 13 June 1818; Lewis Merlin, trans., The Treasure of Health [Philadelphia, 1819], viii–x, 251–5).
1. Omitted period at right margin editorially supplied.
Index Entries
- Appleton, Thomas; and P. Mazzei’s estate search
- Cooper, Thomas; and TJ’s health search
- health; swelling search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; debt to P. Mazzei search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Health; illness of search
- medicine; plasters search
- Physick, Philip Syng; as physician search
- plasters (medicinal) search
- Vaughan, John; and TJ’s health search
- Vaughan, John; letters from search
- Vaughan, John; makes payments for TJ search