The leaves in Central Park have taken on a festive orange hue, and there’s a nip in the air—all sure signs that the Halloween season has arrived at the New-York Historical Society. One of the iconic staples of Halloween lore is the Witch. So, there’s no better time to revisit the integral role witches have…

“Female Regulating” “Relief at Last” “For All Female Complaints” “The Only Reliable Female Pill” “Female Renovating Pills” These cryptic phrases adorn small booklets, packages, and advertisements in an archival folder labeled “Female Remedies—Miscellaneous” in the New-York Historical Society’s library. They are part of a larger collection of material surrounding patent medicines: unregulated liquids, powders, oils,…

As business and commerce drove rural Americans and new immigrants to the bustling city of New York during the latter half of the nineteenth century, an anonymous, booming subculture of dealers, buyers, and sellers in “obscene” materials emerged. In response, some New Yorkers founded the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, an organization…