Warming Technologies, Cold Bodies, and Everyday Health in Early Modern England

This article investigates the history of Sir Richard Carew’s warming stone. Through examination of handwritten notebooks, letters, and printed medical pamphlets, it recovers the theoretical framework shaping the stone’s design as a cure, the creation and launch of medical business in early modern London, the use of cheap print in promoting medical services, and the place of cure testimonials in the marketing of early modern health technologies. It also showcases the dynamism inherent in the design, production, and marketing of the early modern health devices. The article extends histories of early modern therapeutics beyond pharmacy to include medical devices and shines light on new historical actors, knowledge practices, and commercial ventures in early modern health care. It also demonstrates the utility of adopting history of technology frameworks to study early modern health objects and posits that further study of everyday health technologies can enrich histories of medicine.