Josiah Oldfield, the Fruitarian Hospital and Kissing

Fruitarianism is a kind of vegetarian practice which today seems very strict. But 100 years ago, when Josiah Oldfield practiced it, there was more variety allowed in the diet.

Oldfield advocated for fruitarianism, putting him at odds with the Vegetarian Society.[16] He was a member of the Fruitarian Society, whose members lived on "the produce of harvest field, garden, forest and orchard, with milk, butter, cheese, eggs and honey".[6] His own "fruitarianism" was close to ovo-lacto vegetarianism. He was not a vegan: he recommended a daily diet of dandelion leaves, eggs, grapes, honey, lettuce, milk, salad, and watercress.

In any case, Oldfield founded several hospitals whose healing methods involved this diet. See the video below for more details. I have no idea of their success rate.

However, he found time to theorize about other things besides diet, such as the art of kissing. I apologize for the illegibility of the snapshot. Here's a sample or two of the text.





Newpaper source: Omaha Sunday Bee-News (Omaha, Nebraska) 30 Aug 1931, Sun Page 41