This ingenious handmade apparatus for cranial osteopathy, ca. 1930s, was constructed from pieces of two catchers’ mitts and a belt. Cranial osteopathy, developed by Dr. William Sutherland, attempted to improve dysfunctional cranial rhythmic impulses in order to enhance spinal fluid flow. The practice is not, however, discussed in standard medical texts.
Links:
[1] http://www.neh.gov/humanities/author/steve-moyer
[2] http://www.neh.gov/files/humanities/articles/curio_pic_cranial_apparatus__jf2010.jpg
[3] http://www.neh.gov/humanities/tag/medicine
[4] http://www.neh.gov/humanities/tag/museology
[5] http://www.neh.gov/humanities/tag/osteopathy
[6] http://www.neh.gov/humanities/tag/twentieth-century
[7] http://www.neh.gov/humanities/tag/united-states