The strange case of Dr. Couney : how a mysterious European showman saved thousands of American babies

Raffel, Dawn, author.

Book

New York : Blue Rider Press, [2018]

©2018

284 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

"The extraordinary tale of how a mysterious immigrant "doctor" became the revolutionary innovator of saving premature babies--by placing them in incubators in World's Fair side shows and on Coney Island and Atlantic City. What kind of doctor puts his patients on display? As Dawn Raffel artfully recounts, Dr. Couney figured out he could use incubators and careful nursing to keep previously doomed infants alive, and at the same time make good money displaying these babies alongside sword swallowers, bearded ladies, and burlesque shows."--Provided by publisher

Couney, Martin, 1870-1950.

Entertainers -- United States -- Biography.

Respiratory therapy for newborn infants -- United States -- History.

Incubators (Pediatrics) -- United States -- History.

Premature infants -- United States.

Sideshows -- United States -- 20th century.

Carnivals -- United States -- 20th century.

Exhibitions -- United States -- 20th century.

Neonatal intensive care.

Biographies.

Strange case of Doctor Couney

Breath -- Masters of invention. "All the world loves a baby" ; The obit that wouldn't die ; A showman is born ; Et voilà! The artificial hen ; William Silverman and the Couney buffs convene ; Michael Cohn sees an elephant, and the light of a new world ; The Couney buffs encounter the mysterious M. Lion ; "The greatest novelty of the age!" -- Survival of the fittest. The march of science and industry ; The arrival of the eminent Dr. Martin Arthur Counéy ; Nailing jelly to the wall: the Couney buffs gain a follower ; "The President has been shot!" ; Welcome to the city of the dead ; Two elephants, a wedding, and a bunch of crying babies ; Kiss the baby ; "The crime of the decade" ; Little Miss Couney arrives ; "What took you so long?" ; All the pretty preemies ; Magnetic tape ; A dream in flames ; The forgotten woman ; Building better babies ; The day of Couney finally arrives ; Let's pretend I wasn't there ; Keep the incubators, please ; One very short lady -- The black stork. No-man's-land ; A charmed life ; The rise and rise of Julius Hess ; A legend is born ; Alone in a crowd ; Send the ambulance ; The Century of Progress ; Not for public viewing ; All aboard the twentieth century ; "My little brother" ; Sorrow in Sea Gate ; "Leave as soon as you get this" ; The ones who got away ; Playing with matches ; Vision and hindsight ; Who will save you now? ; Winter ; Epilogue.

9780399175749