Ophthalmic practice of Charles H. Mayo, M.D.

With no formal training in ophthalmology, Dr. Charles H. Mayo (the younger Mayo brother) undertook the unwanted task of diagnosing ocular disease and managing patients with such disorders in rural southeastern Minnesota during the 20-year period 1889 through 1908. This endeavor was ancillary to a busy general practice in partnership with his father and older brother. A series of his office ledgers provides a daily panorama of the foibles, remedies, and diagnoses associated with an ophthalmic practice during that era.