Charles Came Collection
name: label: Creator
content: Came, Charles, 1806-1881
topic: label: Topic
content: Phrenology
label: Topic
content: Sideshows
label: Topic
content: Traveling sales personnel
label: Topic
content: Electricity
label: Topic
content: Lecturers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was purchased by the Division of Electricity and Modern Physics, now known as the Division of Medicine and Science in 1989.
creator: label: Creator
content: Came, Charles, 1806-1881
setName: label: See more items in
content: Charles Came Collection
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Charles Came (1806-1881) was born in Henrietta, New York. Came did not attend school, but held work as both a cabinetmaker and a carver of gravestones. He had a strong interest in astronomy and electricity and during the late 1840s and 1850s, he traveled through upstate New York demonstrating the marvels of science, with an emphasis on electricity. Came discovered that he could make money on his own by traveling from town to town, presenting basic science to the people in a dramatic, entertaining style, or enlightening them about recent discoveries.   Came began calling himself  "Dr." Came and also prescribed medical remedies.  The handbills in the collection note Dr. Came's Cough Balsam, Magnetic Stimulating Drops, Magnetic Vermifuge, Volatile Liniment, Vegetable Cathartric Powder, and Easy Emetic Tincture to name a few. The collection represents the popularization of science and its role in American culture. 

Sources

Sherman, Roger. "Charles Came, Itinerant Science Lecturer, and His Splendid Apparatus," Journal of the American Scientific Instrument Enterprise, Vol. 5, No. 4, August 1991, p. 120.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.25 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1838-1979
custodhist: label: Ownership and Custodial History
content: Collection was transferred from theDivision of Information Technology & Society (now Division of Medicine and Science) to the Archives Center in January 1999.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0661
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Articles
label: Type
content: Books
label: Type
content: Letters (correspondence)
label: Type
content: Pamphlets
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into six series.

Series 1: Biographical, undated

Series 2: Correspondence, 1845-1860

Series 3: Photographs, undated 

Series 4: Writings, undated

Series 5: Pamphlets, 1838-1849

Series 6: Books, 1846-1854
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, 2003.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Articles
label: Genre/Form
content: Books -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Letters (correspondence) -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Pamphlets -- 19th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: The collection consists of approximately .25 cubic feet of correspondence, pamphlets, photographs, and books documenting Charles Came.  The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence from Charles Came to his second wife, Cynthia (Chadwick) Came which were written during his travels throughout upstate New York.  The correspondence is not inclusive, and distinctions have been made between existing original correspondence, photostats, photocopies, and typed copies.  The photostats appear to be the most complete set of letters between Dr. Came and his wife.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Archival Materials
content: Approximately 138 scientific instruments—some of which include electrical apparatuses, phrenology heads, tellurian, a celestial globe, colored lantern slides, and electromagnetic engines—from Dr. Came's personal collection are housed in the Division of Medicine and Science.