I-ON-A-CO, the Short Road to Health

S. l. (Los Angeles): S. n. (Iona Company), 1926. First Edition. Very good. First edition presumed, n. d. (ca 1926); 6 1/4 x 3 1/4; pp. 3-31; beige wraps, illustrated and printed in black; a bit of age-toning to wraps; small nicks to tips of spine and fore-edge; overall in very good condition.The I-ON-A-CO was land developer and publisher Gaylord Wilshire's (1861 - 1927) last business venture. The contraption, an electric belt, was supposed to magnetize the iron in the human body and heal and eradicate all ailments. Wilshire began developing it in 1910 and in 1925, purportedly, he strapped it to himself and cured his own medical conditions. The company and its invention gained extreme popularity between 1925 and 1927, the former opening offices all along the West Coast, but sales declined with Wilshire's death, after medical experts dismissed it as a quack device. The current booklet described the I-ON-A-CO and the way it worked, as well as listed numerous testimonials by happy customers.