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In the 19th and 20th centuries, reformers in the United States and Europe built asylums in response to a range of social issues including disability - mental health, and alcoholism. These documents and images from the NLM Digital Collections bring to life the day to day experiences of people at these sites: the conditions of the asylums and the limits on liberty that many people in them experienced.

Illustration of a carriage

Side view of an asylum van, ca. 1890

Courtesy National Library of Medicine

This van was used by a New Jersey town to convey people to and from the asylum. The bars on the windows prevented passengers from leaving the van without permission and reflected the widespread use of security measures to keep people from leaving asylums without permission. Escapes were still a common occurrence, however.