Vermont Asylum for the Insane, Founded A.D. 1834

Vermont, 1880. Albumen photograph. 15 ½ x 10 inches on a 19 x 14 inch cardstock mount. Very Good. A rare 19th century view of an insane asylum. The Vermont Asylum for the Insane, which later became the Brattleboro Retreat, was founded based on Quaker principles of moral treatment. The founder, Anna Hunt Marsh, was the first woman credited with starting a hospital for the mentally ill. The approach was based on English institutions such as The York Retreat. "Moral treatment," first developed by William Tuke in the 18th century, treated mental disorders as diseases and not character flaws or the results of sinning or mental depravity. This image is unrecorded, and would date to sometime before 1890 when the institution was renamed. Some uneven fading, otherwise well preserved. Mount toned at edges. Very good overall.