THE WEIRD-LOOKING gadgets used by doctors 100 years ago are the favorite hobby of William Dosite Postell.
He loves to get his hands on old bone saws, "mad dog stones" for treating dog-bite, and "cholera cures." The older and more obsolete a medical instrument or treatment is, the more he likes to possess it.
As librarian of LSU college of medicine, 1542 Tulane avenue, Postell for nine years has collected odd objects pertaining to the medical profession. He hopes some day to house them in a permanent museum. He has offered his valued help to the women's auxiliary of the Louisiana State Medical Society, which is; also collecting everything of historical interest in the medical field.
Postell travels all over the state in his spare time, searching for interesting old medical apparatus and books. On his recent vacation, he visited ante-b e 11 u m plantations in and around Natchez, Miss. He took pictures of former slave hospitals, made photostatic copies of medical recipes kept in musty volumes dating back 100 years and more. He questioned descendants of the original owners on what they knew about medical care in the old South.
