Psychiatric Patients (Hospital Vilardebó, 1907-1909)
Since I am using lots of old psychiatric patients pictures for my final university project, I thought it would be nice to share them with you =)
I did an entry some weeks ago, and since lots of people liked the post, it doesn't hurt to post some others. And as I said in the last post, I don't mean any disrespect for those people.
The pictures are from the Uruguayan hospital: Hospital Vilardebó.
The Hopital Vilardebó de Montevideo was opened on May 21st 1880 and was known as Manicomio Nacional (National Madhouse) and had the capacity to house 700 patients. In 1915, it became one of the most important asylums of South America and had 1500 patients. The institution had a high level of clinical assistance, and had gardens, a chapel, a library, well kept dormitories for men and women, rooms for psychotherapy, electrotherapy, dinner halls, hydrotherapy, an autopsy room, a pharmacy, an infirmary, sterilization services, a photography lab, and many others.
However, the lack of economic resources made the hospital look like it is today: the walls are crumbling, graffitied, and broken, the floors are dirty and broken, and there is a huge lack of beds and personnel, nowadays having the capacity to house only 300 patients. Unfortunately this is a fact that many South American countries have to face, the lack of governmental resources to the public health makes the public institutions the worst places with the worst conditions to intern a mental patient. Even the public institutions that are considered very good suffer from this lack of resources. All of them (considered to be good or bad ones, and of course on varied levels) are abandoned and deteriorated, lacking beds, medicines, and personnel.
The hospital in 1903
The hospital elaborated photography albums not only of its facilities but also of its patients. One of the patients' album is "Manicomio Nacional: Departamento de Mujeres" (National Madhouse: Women's Section), which holds the photographs of the 461 women that were interned there in the period between February of 1907 and August of 1909. Of those 461 women, only 66 died in the hospital, 16% of them between the ages of 24 and 44.
A photograph of each patient was taken upon admission and discharge, however most of the discharge pictures have been lost. The documentation of the hospital's patients show that the majority of them were brought in by the municipal police, and only a few were transfered from other hospitals or admitted by private physicians. The album only shows us the minimum of data about the patients (sometimes lacking a lot of information) as age, admission and discharge dates, and, occasionally, their condition.
NOTE: all their surnames are protected.
1.
AUGUSTA N.P.
Admitted: March 12th, 1908
Discharged: August 28th, 1908
Age: ?
Condition: ?
2.
ANGELA B.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 32
Condition: Mania
3.
ANGELA F. de G.
Admitted: October 27th, 1907
Discharged: December 2nd, 1907
Age: 61
Condition: ?
4.
ANGELA G.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: August 24th, 1907
Age: 19
Condition: ?
5.
CAROLINIA V.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 45
Condition: ?
6.
CINIACA R.
Admitted: October 13th, 1907
Discharged: January 26th, 1908
Age: ?
Condition: ?
7.
EUGENIA A.
Admitted: July 25th, 1908
Discharged: September 30th, 1908
Age: ?
Condition: Mania
8.
(Admission photo)
(Discharge photo)
EVA de L.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 16
Condition: Hysteria
9.
HERMINIA R.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 25
Condition: ?
10.
ISABEL de B.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 44
Condition: Melancholy
11.
ISARIAS D. de O.
Admitted: January 10th, 1909
Discharged: March 30th, 1909
Age: ?
Condition: ?
12.
LEVERA D.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: ?
Condition: ?
13.
MARGHERITA A.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: February 15th, 1909
Age: ?
Condition: ?
14.
MARÍA C.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 52
Condition: ?
15.
(discharge photo)
PELEGRUIA de V. A.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 35
Condition: ?
16.
TERESA C.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 35
Condition: Mania
17.
ZUARIA de M.
Admitted: September 20th, 1907
Discharged: ?
Age:34
Condition: ?
But since her expression is really sad it was probably melancholy or some form of depression.
I did an entry some weeks ago, and since lots of people liked the post, it doesn't hurt to post some others. And as I said in the last post, I don't mean any disrespect for those people.
The pictures are from the Uruguayan hospital: Hospital Vilardebó.
The Hopital Vilardebó de Montevideo was opened on May 21st 1880 and was known as Manicomio Nacional (National Madhouse) and had the capacity to house 700 patients. In 1915, it became one of the most important asylums of South America and had 1500 patients. The institution had a high level of clinical assistance, and had gardens, a chapel, a library, well kept dormitories for men and women, rooms for psychotherapy, electrotherapy, dinner halls, hydrotherapy, an autopsy room, a pharmacy, an infirmary, sterilization services, a photography lab, and many others.
However, the lack of economic resources made the hospital look like it is today: the walls are crumbling, graffitied, and broken, the floors are dirty and broken, and there is a huge lack of beds and personnel, nowadays having the capacity to house only 300 patients. Unfortunately this is a fact that many South American countries have to face, the lack of governmental resources to the public health makes the public institutions the worst places with the worst conditions to intern a mental patient. Even the public institutions that are considered very good suffer from this lack of resources. All of them (considered to be good or bad ones, and of course on varied levels) are abandoned and deteriorated, lacking beds, medicines, and personnel.
The hospital in 1903
The hospital elaborated photography albums not only of its facilities but also of its patients. One of the patients' album is "Manicomio Nacional: Departamento de Mujeres" (National Madhouse: Women's Section), which holds the photographs of the 461 women that were interned there in the period between February of 1907 and August of 1909. Of those 461 women, only 66 died in the hospital, 16% of them between the ages of 24 and 44.
A photograph of each patient was taken upon admission and discharge, however most of the discharge pictures have been lost. The documentation of the hospital's patients show that the majority of them were brought in by the municipal police, and only a few were transfered from other hospitals or admitted by private physicians. The album only shows us the minimum of data about the patients (sometimes lacking a lot of information) as age, admission and discharge dates, and, occasionally, their condition.
NOTE: all their surnames are protected.
1.
AUGUSTA N.P.
Admitted: March 12th, 1908
Discharged: August 28th, 1908
Age: ?
Condition: ?
2.
ANGELA B.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 32
Condition: Mania
3.
ANGELA F. de G.
Admitted: October 27th, 1907
Discharged: December 2nd, 1907
Age: 61
Condition: ?
4.
ANGELA G.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: August 24th, 1907
Age: 19
Condition: ?
5.
CAROLINIA V.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 45
Condition: ?
6.
CINIACA R.
Admitted: October 13th, 1907
Discharged: January 26th, 1908
Age: ?
Condition: ?
7.
EUGENIA A.
Admitted: July 25th, 1908
Discharged: September 30th, 1908
Age: ?
Condition: Mania
8.
(Admission photo)
(Discharge photo)
EVA de L.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 16
Condition: Hysteria
9.
HERMINIA R.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 25
Condition: ?
10.
ISABEL de B.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 44
Condition: Melancholy
11.
ISARIAS D. de O.
Admitted: January 10th, 1909
Discharged: March 30th, 1909
Age: ?
Condition: ?
12.
LEVERA D.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: ?
Condition: ?
13.
MARGHERITA A.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: February 15th, 1909
Age: ?
Condition: ?
14.
MARÍA C.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 52
Condition: ?
15.
(discharge photo)
PELEGRUIA de V. A.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 35
Condition: ?
16.
TERESA C.
Admitted: ?
Discharged: ?
Age: 35
Condition: Mania
17.
ZUARIA de M.
Admitted: September 20th, 1907
Discharged: ?
Age:34
Condition: ?
But since her expression is really sad it was probably melancholy or some form of depression.