E.W. Kemble's "Deaths Laboratory" in Collier's Magazine in 1906

Patent medicine is the somewhat misleading term given to various medical compounds sold under a variety of names and labels, though they were, for the most part, actually medicines with trademarks, not patented medicines. In ancient times, such medicine was called nostrum remedium, "our remedy" in Latin, hence the name "nostrum," that is also used for such medicines; it is a medicine whose efficacy is questionable and whose ingredients are usually kept secret. The name patent medicine has become particularly associated with the sale of drug compounds in the nineteenth century under cover of colourful names and even more colourful claims. The promotion of patent medicines was one of the first major products of the advertising industry, and many advertising and sales techniques were pioneered by patent medicine promoters. Patent medicine advertising often talked up exotic ingredients, even if their actual effects came from more prosaic drugs. One memorable group of patent medicines — liniments that allegedly contained snake oil, supposedly a universal panacea — made snake oil salesman a lasting synonym for a charlatan. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 367 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (765 × 1248 pixel, file size: 83 KB, MIME type: image/gif) E.W. Kembles Deaths Laboratory in Colliers Magazine in 1906. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 367 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (765 × 1248 pixel, file size: 83 KB, MIME type: image/gif) E.W. Kembles Deaths Laboratory in Colliers Magazine in 1906. ... November 24, 1917 cover Colliers Weekly was an American magazine that was published between 1888 and 1957. ... A trademark or trade mark[1] is a distinctive sign of some kind which is used by an individual, business organization or other legal entity to uniquely identify the source of its products and/or services to consumers, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a patentee (the inventor or assignee) for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Commercialism redirects here. ... Sales, or the activity of selling, forms an integral part of commercial activity. ... Liniment, from the Latin linere, to anoint, is a medicinal preparation meant for external use, but one that is thinner in consistency than an ointment. ... For snake oil in cryptography, see Snake oil (cryptography) Clark Stanleys Snake Oil Liniment. ... The universal panacea (PAN-ah-see-ah), one of the goals sought by many alchemists, was a remedy that would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely. ... Look up Charlatan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Patent medicines and advertising

The phrase patent medicine comes from the early days of the marketing of medical elixirs, when those who found favour with royalty were issued letters patent authorising the use of the royal endorsement in advertising. The name stuck well after the American Revolution made these endorsements by the crowned heads of Europe obsolete. Few if any of the nostrums were actually patented; chemical patents came into use in the USA in 1925, and in any case attempting to monopolize a drug, medical device, or medical procedure was considered unethical by the standards upheld during the era of patent medicine. Mugwump Remedy for venereal disease, a patent medicine label. ... Mural of Mercury in Pompeii. ... A monarch (see sovereignty) is a type of ruler or head of state. ... Letters Patent by Queen Victoria creating the office of Governor-General of Australia Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of an open letter issued by a monarch or government granting an office, a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as... John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies that... A chemical patent is an important source of technical and bibliographic information. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... A monopoly (from the Greek language monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a product or service, in other words a firm that has no competitors in its industry. ... Medical ethics is the study of moral values as they apply to medicine. ...

Instead, the compounders of these nostrums used a primitive version of branding to distinguish themselves from the crowd of their competitors. Many familiar names from the era live on in brands such as Luden's cough drops, Lydia E. Pinkham's vegetable compound for women, Fletcher's Castoria, and even Angostura bitters, which was once marketed as a stomach remedy. Many of these medicines, though sold at high prices, were made from quite cheap ingredients. Their composition was well known within the pharmacy trade, and druggists would sell (for a slightly lower price) medicines of almost identical composition that they had manufactured themselves. To protect profits, the branded medicine advertisements laid great emphasis on the brand-names, and urged the public to accept no substitutes. A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. ... Ludens is a brand of throat lozenge. ... Lydia E. Pinkham (from a 1904 pamphlet) Lydia Estes Pinkham (1819 - 1883), patent medicine manufacturer and businesswoman A resident of Lynn, Massachusetts, Lydia Pinkham first began developing home remedies after the near bankruptcy of her husband. ... bitter An antique (probably 1880s) bitters bottle from Germany that sold for $1240. ... In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. ... For other uses, see Pharmacy (disambiguation). ...

At least in the earliest days, the history of patent medicines is coextensive with the history of medicine itself. Empirical medicine, and the beginning of the application of the scientific method to medicine, began to yield a few effective herbal and mineral drugs for the physician's arsenal. These few tested and true remedies, on the other hand, were inadequate to cover the bewildering variety of diseases and symptoms. Beyond these patches of knowledge they had to resort to occultism; the "doctrine of signatures" — essentially, the application of sympathetic magic to pharmacology — held that nature had hidden clues to medically effective drugs in their resemblances to the human body and its parts. This led medical men to hope, at least, that, say, walnut shells might be good for skull fractures. Given the state of the pharmacopoeia, and patients' demands for something to take, physicians began making "blunderbuss" concoctions of various drugs, proven and unproven. These concoctions were the ancestors of the several nostrums. This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... The Doctor by Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, one type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor. ... The term disease refers to an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs function. ... The term symptom (from the Greek meaning chance, mishap or casualty, itself derived from συμπιπτω meaning to fall upon or to happen to) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... The doctrine of signatures refers to two separate concepts. ... Magic (also called magick to distinguish it from stage magic) is a supposed way of influencing the world through supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmakos (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and logos (λόγος) meaning science) is the study of how substances interact with living organisms to produce a change in function. ... “Walnut Tree” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that temporal fenestra be merged into this article or section. ... Back cover of the Chinese pharmacopoeia First Edition (published in 1930) Pharmacopoeia (literally, the art of the drug compounder), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a...

Touting these nostrums was one of the first major projects of the advertising industry. The marketing of nostrums under implausible claims has a long history. In Henry Fielding's Tom Jones (1749), allusion is made to the sale of medical compounds claimed to be universal panaceas: Henry Fielding (April 22, 1707 – October 8, 1754) was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humor and satirical prowess and as the author of the novel Tom Jones. ... The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (often known simply as Tom Jones) is a comic novel by Henry Fielding. ... Events While in debtors prison, John Cleland writes Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure). ... In Greek mythology, Panaceia, or Πανάκεια (Latin Panacea), was the goddess of healing. ...

As to Squire Western, he was seldom out of the sick-room, unless when he was engaged either in the field or over his bottle. Nay, he would sometimes retire hither to take his beer, and it was not without difficulty that he was prevented from forcing Jones to take his beer too: for no quack ever held his nostrum to be a more general panacea than he did this; which, he said, had more virtue in it than was in all the physic in an apothecary's shop.

Within the English-speaking world, patent medicines are as old as journalism. "Anderson's Pills" were first made in England in the 1630s; the recipe was allegedly learned in Venice by a Scot who claimed to be physician to King Charles I. The use of letters patent to obtain exclusive marketing rights to certain labelled formulas and their marketing fueled the circulation of early newspapers. The use of invented names began early. In 1726 a patent was also granted to the makers of "Dr. Bateman's Pectoral Drops"; at least on the documents that survive, there was no Dr. Bateman. This was the enterprise of a Benjamin Okell and a group of promoters who owned a warehouse and a print shop to promote the product. Pietro Longhi: The Charlatan, 1757 Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe questionable medical practices. ... Oral medication A medication is any drug taken to cure or reduce the symptoms of an illness or ongoing medical condition. ... Interior of an apothecarys shop. ... Journalism is a discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and more broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... Events and Trends Thirty Years War in full swing in Europe September 8, 1636 - A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes Harvard College as the first college founded in the Americas. ... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venezsia) is the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II... Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ... Events George Friderich Handel becomes a British subject. ...

A number of American institutions owe their existence to the patent medicine industry, most notably a number of the older almanacs, which were originally given away as promotional items by patent medicine manufacturers. Perhaps the most successful industry that grew up out of the business of patent medicine advertisements, though, was founded by William H. Gannett in Maine in 1866. There were few circulating newspapers in Maine in that era, so Gannett founded a periodical, Comfort, whose chief purpose was to propose the merits of Oxien, a nostrum made from the fruit of the baobab tree, to the rural folks of Maine. Gannett's newspaper became the first publication of Guy Gannett Communications, which eventually owned four Maine dailies and several television stations. (The family-owned firm is not related to the giant Gannett Corporation, publisher of "USA Today.") An almanac (also spelled almanack, especially in Commonwealth English) is an annual publication containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar. ... It has been suggested that Advertising Specialties be merged into this article or section. ... Official language(s) None (English de facto; French is also an administrative language) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Species See text The baobab (Adansonia), or monkey bread tree are a genus of eight species of trees, native to Madagascar (the centre of diversity, with six species), and mainland Africa and Australia (one species in each). ... Gannett Company, Inc. ...

Another method of publicity undertaken mostly by smaller firms was the "medicine show," a travelling circus of sorts which offered vaudeville-style entertainments on a small scale, and which climaxed in a pitch for the nostrum being sold. Muscleman acts were especially popular on these tours, for this enabled the salesman to tout the physical vigour offered by the potion he was selling. The showmen frequently employed shills, who would step forward from the crowd and offer "unsolicited" testimonials about the benefits of the medicine for sale. Often, the nostrum was manufactured and bottled in the same wagon that the show travelled in. The Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company became one of the largest and most successful medicine show operators; their shows had an American Indian or Wild West theme, and employed many Native Americans as spokespeople. The medicine show lived on in American folklore and Western movies long after they had vanished from public meeting places. Lydia Pinkhams Herb Medicine. ... Clark Stanleys Snake Oil Liniment. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Bodybuilding is the process of developing muscle fibres through the combination of weight training, specific caloric intake, and rest. ... Sales, or the activity of selling, forms an integral part of commercial activity. ... A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services who pretends no association to the seller and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer. ... Native Americans are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ... The folklore of the United States, or American folklore, is the folk tradition which has evolved on the North American continent since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. ... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ...

Ingredients and their uses

Sick Made Well, Weak Made Strong, Elixir of Life, etc. Typical ad for patent medicine.

Patent Medicine Elixir of Life ad, c. ... Patent Medicine Elixir of Life ad, c. ...

Supposed ingredients

Some level of exoticism and mystery in the contents of the preparation was deemed desirable by their promoters. Unlikely ingredients such as the baobab fruit in Oxien were a recurring theme. A famous patent medicine of the period was Dr. Kilmer's Swamp Root; unspecified roots found in swamps had remarkable effects on the kidneys, according to its literature.

Native American themes were also useful; Natives, imagined to be noble savages, were thought to be in tune with Nature, and heirs to a body of traditional lore about herbal remedies and natural cures. One example of this approach from the period was Kickapoo Indian Sagwa, a product of the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company of Connecticut (completely unrelated to the real Kickapoo Indian tribe of Oklahoma), supposedly based on a Native American recipe. This nostrum was the inspiration for Al Capp's "Kickapoo Joy Juice," featured in the comic strip, "Li'l Abner". Another benefit of claiming traditional native origins was that it was nearly impossible to disprove. A good example of this is the story behind Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills which was the mainstay of the Comstock patent medicine business. According to the text printed on a wrapper that accompanied every box of pills, Dr. Morse had been a trained medical doctor who enriched his education by travelling extensively throughout Asia, Africa and Europe. He also supposedly immersed himself among the natives of North America for three years during which time he discovered the healing properties of the various plants and roots that would eventually combine to yield Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills. It is generally accepted that Dr. Morse, of course, never did exist. A section of Benjamin Wests The Death of General Wolfe; Wests depiction of this Native American has been considered an idealization in the tradition of the Noble savage (Fryd, 75) In the 18th century culture of Primitivism the noble savage, uncorrupted by the influences of civilization was considered... Galunggung in 1982, showing a combination of natural events. ... Herbs: basil Herbs (IPA: hÉ™()b, or É™b; see pronunciation differences) are plants grown for any purpose other than food, wood or beauty. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... The Kickapoos are one of the Algonquian speaking Native American tribes. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... I do Lil Abner!!, a self-portrait by Al Capp, excerpted from the April 16-17 1951 Lil Abner strips. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Lil Abner was a comic strip in United States newspapers, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the town of Dogpatch. ... Dr. Morses Indian Root Pills was one of the most successful and enduring products to be manufactured and marketed in North America as part of the lucrative patent medicine industry, which thrived during most of the 19th and 20th centuries. ... Dr. Morses Indian Root Pills was one of the most successful and enduring products to be manufactured and marketed in North America as part of the lucrative patent medicine industry, which thrived during most of the 19th and 20th centuries. ...

Other promoters took an opposite tack from timeless herbal wisdom. Just about any scientific discovery or exotic locale could be used as a key ingredient in a patent medicine. Consumers were invited to invoke the power of electromagnetism to heal their ailments. In the nineteenth century, electricity and radio were gee-whiz scientific advances that found their way into patent medicine advertising, especially after Luigi Galvani showed that electricity influenced the muscles. Devices meant to electrify the body were sold; nostrums were compounded that purported to attract electrical energy or make the body more conductive. Albert Abrams was a well known practitioner of electrical quackery, claiming the ability to diagnose and treat diseases over long distances by radio. Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge and magnetic charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Luigi Galvani - Italian physician famous for making frogs legs twitch. ... A top-down view of skeletal muscle Muscle (from Latin musculus little mouse [1]) is contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. ... Albert Abrams (1863–1924) was a quack and a fraud, posing as a doctor in San Francisco, whose tool for gaining profit from the gullible was a variety of electricity therapy he called ERA, or Electronic Reactions of Abrams. ... Electricity has long been thought to be an elemental life-force. ...

Towards the end of the period, a number of radioactive medicines, containing uranium or radium, were marketed. These apparently actually contained the ingredients promised, and there were a number of tragedies among their devotees; most notoriously, steel heir Eben McBurney Byers was a supporter of the popular radium water "Radithor". He contracted fatal radium poisoning and had to have his jaw removed in an unsuccessful attempt to save him from bone cancer after taking more than a thousand bottles of "radium water." Water irradiators were sold that promised to infuse water placed within them with radon, which was thought to be healthy at the time. Radioactivity may mean: Look up radioactivity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... General Name, Symbol, Number uranium, U, 92 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery gray metallic; corrodes to a spalling black oxide coat in air Standard atomic weight 238. ... General Name, Symbol, Number radium, Ra, 88 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 7, s Appearance silvery white metallic Standard atomic weight (226) g·mol−1 Electron configuration [Rn] 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... The steel cable of a colliery winding tower. ... Eben McBurney Byers (April 12, 1880 - March 31, 1932) was a wealthy American socialite, athlete, and industrialist who earned notoriety in the 1930s after a gruesome illness and death caused by radiation poisoning resulting from the consumption of a popular patent medicine made from radium dissolved in water. ... Radithor was a well known patent medicine/snake oil that is possibly the best known example of radioactive quackery. ... General Name, Symbol, Number radon, Rn, 86 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 6, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass (222) g·mol−1 Electron configuration [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8 Physical properties Phase gas Density (0 °C, 101. ...

Bonnores Electromagnetic Bath, a patent medicine label for a product presumably no longer on the market. ... Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric charge and magnetic charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of those particles. ...

Actual ingredients

While various herbs, touted or alluded to, were talked up in the advertising, their actual effects often came from opium extracts, cocaine, or grain alcohol. Those containing opiates were at least effective in relieving pain, though they could result in addiction. This hazard was sufficiently well known that many were advertised as causing none of the harmful effects of opium (though many of those so advertised actually did contain opium). In the case of medicines for "female complaints", the principal "complaint" that the medicine was intended to treat was early pregnancy; such products contained ingredients capable of causing abortion, such as pennyroyal, tansy or savin. This article does not adequately cite its references. ... Cocaine is one hell of a drug and manny is back ... Grain alcohol redirects here. ... Binomial name Mentha pulegium L. The herb Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium, family Lamiaceae), is a member of the mint genus; an essential oil extracted from it is used in aromatherapy. ... Binomial name Tanacetum vulgare L. Illustration of a tansy The Tansy, Common Tansy, or Golden Buttons (Tanacetum vulgare) is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant of the aster family that is native to temperate Europe and Asia. ... Binomial name Juniperus sabina L. Juniperus sabina (Savin Juniper or Savin) is a shrubby juniper, very variable in shape, reaching 1-4 m tall. ...

Until the twentieth century alcohol was the most controversial ingredient; for it was widely recognised that the "medicines" could continue to be sold for their alleged curative properties even in prohibition states and counties. Many of the medicines were in fact liqueurs of various sorts, flavoured with herbs said to have medicinal properties. Peruna was a famous "Prohibition tonic," weighing in at around 18% grain alcohol. A nostrum known as "Jamaican ginger" was ordered to change its formula by Prohibition officials; to fool a chemical test, some vendors added a toxic chemical, cresyl phosphate, an organophosphate compound that had effects similar to a nerve agent. Unwary imbibers suffered a form of paralysis that came to be known as jake-leg. Some included laxatives such as senna or diuretics, in order to give the compounds some obvious medical effects. The narcotics and stimulants at least had the virtue of making the people who took them feel better, and in the eyes of the advertisers this was scored as a "cure." (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... The term Prohibition, also known as A Dry Law, refers to a law in a certain country by which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. ... Bottles of strawberry liqueur A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavoured with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. ... Many plants have traditional medical uses. ... Jamaican Ginger Extract (known in the United States by the slang name Jake) was an early 20th century patent medicine that provided a convenient way to bypass Prohibition laws, since it contained as much as 85% ethyl alcohol. ... An organophosphate (sometimes abbreviated OP) is the general name for esters of phosphoric acid and is one of the organophosphorus compounds. ... Nerve agents (also known as nerve gases, though these chemicals are liquid at room temperature) are a class of phosphorus-containing organic chemicals (organophosphates) that disrupt the mechanism by which nerves transfer messages to organs. ... Paralysis is the complete loss of muscle function for one or more muscle groups. ... Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements, most often taken to treat constipation. ... Senna is the common name for many species in the genera Senna and Cassia, both in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. ... A diuretic (colloquially called a water pill) is any drug or herb that elevates the rate of bodily urine excretion (diuresis). ...

Clark Stanley the "Rattlesnake King" produced Stanley's snake oil, publicly processing rattlesnakes at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. His liniment, when seized and tested by the federal government in 1917, was found to contain mineral oil, 1% fatty oil, red pepper, turpentine and camphor. This is not too unlike modern capsaicin and camphor liniments. Species 27 species; see list of rattlesnake species and subspecies. ... One-third scale replica of Daniel Chester Frenchs Republic, which stood in the great basin at the exposition, Chicago, 2004 The Worlds Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago Worlds Fair), a Worlds Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Mineral oil or liquid petrolatum is a by-product in the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline. ... The chile pepper, chili pepper, or chilli pepper, or simply chile, is the fruit of the plant Capsicum from the nightshade family, Solanaceae. ... For the band, see Turpentine (band). ... R-phrases 11-20/21/22-36/37/38 S-phrases 16-26-36 RTECS number EX1260000 (R) EX1250000 (S) Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... The chemical compound capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is the active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. ...

When journalists and physicians began focusing on the narcotic contents of the patent medicines, some of their makers began substituting acetanilide, a particularly toxic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, discovered in 1886, for the laudanum they used to contain. This ingredient change probably killed more of the nostrum's users than the narcotics did, since the acetanilide was toxic to the liver and kidneys. Acetanilide is an odourless solid chemical of leaf or flake-like appearance. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs, are drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects - they reduce pain, fever and inflammation. ... Year 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Laudanum (disambiguation). ... The liver is an organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. ... It has been suggested that Renal anomalies and Renal plasma threshold be merged into this article or section. ...

Supposed uses

Patent medicines were supposedly able to cure just about everything. Nostrums were openly sold that claimed to cure or prevent venereal diseases, tuberculosis, and cancer. Bonnore's Electro Magnetic Bathing Fluid claimed to cure cholera, neuralgia, epilepsy, scarlet fever, necrosis, mercurial eruptions, paralysis, hip diseases, chronic abscesses, and "female complaints." A panacea so universally effective cannot be bought today at any price. William Radam's Microbe Killer, a product sold widely on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1890s and early 1900s, had the bold claim 'Cures All Diseases' prominently embossed on the front of the bottle. Ebeneezer Sibley ('Dr Sibley') in late 18th and early 19th century Britain went so far as to advertise that his Solar Tincture was able to "restore life in the event of sudden death", amongst other marvels. Sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), also known as sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), are diseases that are commonly transmitted between partners through some form of sexual activity, most commonly vaginal intercourse, oral sex, or anal sex. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ... Cholera (frequently called Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ... Neuralgia is a painful disorder of the nerves. ... Necrosis (in Greek Νεκρός = Death) is the name given to accidental death of cells and living tissue. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Paralysis is the complete loss of muscle function for one or more muscle groups. ... Bones of the Hip In anatomy, the hip is the bony projection of the femur, known as the greater trochanter, and the overlying muscle and fat. ... Look up Abscess in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Greek mythology, Panaceia, or Πανάκεια (Latin Panacea), was the goddess of healing. ...

Every manufacturer published long lists of testimonials in which all sorts of human ailments were cured by the compounds. Fortunately for both their makers and users, the illnesses that they claimed were cured were almost invariably self-diagnosed, and the claims of the writers to have been healed of cancer or tuberculosis by the nostrum should be considered in this light. In fact many, if not most, patent medicines were products of quackery, and were of little or no therapeutic benefit. In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or endorsement consists of a written or spoken statement, sometimes from a public figure, sometimes from a private citizen, extolling the virtue of some product. ... Pietro Longhi: The Charlatan, 1757 Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe questionable medical practices. ...

The end of the patent medicine era

Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment. Accept no substitutes!

Muckraker journalists and other investigators began to publicize instances of death, drug addiction, and other hazards from the compounds. This took some small courage on behalf of the publishing industry that circulated these claims, since the typical newspaper of the period relied heavily on the patent medicines, which founded the U.S. advertising industry. In 1905, Samuel Hopkins Adams published an exposé entitled "The Great American Fraud" in Collier's Weekly that led to the passage of the first Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. This statute did not ban the alcohol, narcotics, and stimulants in the medicines; it required them to be labelled as such, and curbed some of the more misleading, overstated, or fraudulent claims that appeared on the labels. In 1936 the statute was revised to ban them, and the United States entered a long period of ever more drastic reductions in the medications available unmediated by physicians and prescriptions. Image File history File links Snake-oil. ... For snake oil in cryptography, see Snake oil (cryptography) Clark Stanleys Snake Oil Liniment. ... Liniment, from the Latin linere, to anoint, is a medicinal preparation meant for external use, but one that is thinner in consistency than an ointment. ... It has been suggested that Exposé (journalism) be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Drug addiction, or dependency is the compulsive use of drugs, to the point where the user has no effective choice but to continue use. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Samuel Hopkins Adams (1871–1958) was an American writer, best known for his investigative journalism. ... November 24, 1917 cover Colliers Weekly was an American magazine that was published between 1888 and 1957. ... The Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906 is a United States federal law that provided for federal inspection of meat products, and forbide the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products or poisonous patent medicines. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ... In the broadest sense, a fraud is a deception made for personal gain. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Doctor by Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, one type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor. ... A medical prescription ) is an order (often in written form) by a qualified health care professional to a pharmacist or other therapist for a treatment to be provided to their patient. ...

The patent medicine makers moved from selling nostrums to selling deodorants and toothpastes, which continued to be advertised using the same techniques that had proven themselves selling nostrums for tuberculosis and "female complaints." One survival of the herbal exoticism that once characterized the patent medicine industry is the marketing of shampoos, which are often promoted as containing perfumes such as vetiver or ylang-ylang, and foods such as mangoes, bananas, or honey; consumers are urged to put these ingredients in their hair. Roll-on deodorant Stick deodorant Deodorants are substances applied to the body, most frequently the armpits, to reduce the body odor caused by the bacterial breakdown of perspiration. ... Modern toothpaste gel Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used to clean and improve the aesthetic appearance and health of teeth. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell. ... Binomial name Chrysopogon zizanoides (L.) Roberty Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) is a perennial grass of the Poaceae native to India. ... Binomial name Cananga odorata (Lam. ... Species About 35 species, including: Mangifera altissima Mangifera applanata Mangifera caesia Mangifera camptosperma Mangifera casturi Mangifera decandra Mangifera foetida Mangifera gedebe Mangifera griffithii Mangifera indica Mangifera kemanga Mangifera laurina Mangifera longipes Mangifera macrocarpa Mangifera mekongensis Mangifera odorata Mangifera pajang Mangifera pentandra Mangifera persiciformis Mangifera quadrifida Mangifera siamensis Mangifera similis Mangifera... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A jar of honey, shown with a wooden honey server and scones/biscuits. ...

In more recent years, also, various herbal concoctions have been marketed as "nutritional supplements". While their advertisements are careful not to cross the line into making explicit medical claims, and often bear a disclaimer that asserts that the products have not been tested and are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease, they are nevertheless marketed as remedies of various sorts. Weight loss and similar claims are frequently found on these compounds. One of the most notorious such elixirs, however, calls itself "Enzyte", widely advertised for "natural male enhancement" — that is, penis enlargement. Despite being a compound of herbs, minerals, and vitamins, Enzyte formerly promoted itself under a fake scientific name Suffragium asotas. Enzyte's makers translate this phrase as "better sex," but it is in fact ungrammatical Latin for "refuge for the dissipated."[1] In the United States, a dietary supplement is defined under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 as a product taken by the mouth that contains a dietary ingredient that is intended as a supplement to the diet. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Weight loss, in the context of medicine or health, is a reduction of the total body weight, which can mean loss of fluid, muscle, bone mass, or fat. ... Enzyte is a pharmeceutical drug that claims to assist with male enhancement. ... Penis enlargement procedures (sometimes referred to as male enhancement procedures in spam email and television advertisements) are techniques designed to make the human penis larger. ... Retinol (Vitamin A) For the record label, see Vitamin Records Vitamins are nutrients required in tiny amounts for essential metabolic reactions in the body. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Surviving consumer products from the patent medicine era

A number of brands of consumer products that date from the patent medicine era are still on the market and available today. Their ingredients may have changed from the original formulas; the claims made for the benefits they offer have typically been seriously revised. These brands include:

A horse drawn Bromo Seltzer wagon.

• 666 Cold Medicine
• Absorbine Jr.
• BC Powder
• Bromo-Seltzer
• Carter's Little Liver Pills (Currently sold as Carter's Little Pills)
• Chlorodyne
• Doan's Pills
• Fletcher's Castoria
• Geritol
• Goody's Powder
• Lobeila Cough Syrup
• Luden's Throat Drops
• Phillips' Milk of Magnesia
• Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound
• Smith Brothers Throat Drops
• Vicks VapoRub

A number of patent medicines are produced in China; among the best known of these is Shou Wu Chih, a black, alcoholic liquid which is claimed to turn gray hair black. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Throughout history and before, there has been a huge number of types of horse-drawn vehicle. ... BC Powder is an over-the-counter analgesic pain reliever owned by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals and manufactured in Memphis, TN. It was conceived in Durham, NC, in 1906, by Germain Bernard and C.T. Council, who took the first initials of their last names to create the name of the nascent... A horse drawn Bromo-Seltzer wagon. ... Bisacodyl is the International Nonproprietary Name of a compound that functions as a stimulant laxative. ... Bisacodyl is the International Nonproprietary Name of a compound that functions as a stimulant laxative. ... 1891 advertisement for J. Collis Brownes Chlorodyne 1891 advertisement for a rival brand of Chlorodyne Chlorodyne was the name for one of the most famous patent medicines sold in the British Isles. ... Fletchers® Castoria®, also known as Fletchers® Laxative, is an oral syrup containing a stimulant laxative and ingredients to soothe the stomach. ... Geritol is the name of an American vitamin and mineral supplement. ... Goodys Powder is an over-the-counter pain reliever, in elemental powder form, marketed and sold by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. ... Ludens is a brand of throat lozenge. ... A bottle of Phillips Milk of Magnesia in the 1900s. ... Lydia E. Pinkham (from a 1904 pamphlet) Lydia Estes Pinkham (1819 - 1883), patent medicine manufacturer and businesswoman A resident of Lynn, Massachusetts, Lydia Pinkham first began developing home remedies after the near bankruptcy of her husband. ... Smith Brothers Smith Brothers menthol introduced in 1922 Smith Brothers black from Warner Lambert after 1963 The Smith Brothers were makers of cough drops. ... 50g Vicks VapoRub. ... Image:Shou Wu Chi. ...

Products no longer sold under medicinal claims

Some consumer products were once marketed as patent medicines, but have been repurposed and are no longer sold for medicinal purposes. Their original ingredients may have been changed to remove drugs, such is the case with Coca-Cola. The compound may also simply be used in a different capacity, as in the case of Angostura Bitters, now associated chiefly with cocktails. A cocktail. ...

• Angostura Bitters
• Bovril
• Coca-Cola
• Dr Pepper
• Fernet Branca
• Hires Root Beer
• Moxie brand soda
• tonic water

bitter An antique (probably 1880s) bitters bottle from Germany that sold for $1240. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Fernet Branca with Cola Fernet Branca is a bitter, aromatic spirit made from 27 herbs and spices, including myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and saffron, with a base of grape alcohol. ... Hires Root Beer is a soft drink marketed by Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. ... Moxie soda logo Moxie, a carbonated beverage, is considered to be the USAs first mass produced soft drink. ... The Canada Dry brand of tonic water, shown on the right under ultraviolet light. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Patent medicine

• Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills
• Hadacol
• Homeopathy
• Chinese patent medicine
• Opodeldoc
• Quackery
• Snake oil
• George Gill Green and his "Green's August Flower" and "Boschee's German Syrup"
• Universal panacea
• Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People
• Tono-Bungay
• Blue mass (not a patent medicine, but a popular contemporary remedy)

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Dr. Morses Indian Root Pills was one of the most successful and enduring products to be manufactured and marketed in North America as part of the lucrative patent medicine industry, which thrived during most of the 19th and 20th centuries. ... Hadacol was a patent medicine marketed as a vitamin supplement. ... Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathy Homeopathy (also spelled homœopathy or homoeopathy), from the Greek words όμοιος, hómoios (similar) and πάθος, páthos (suffering)[1], is a system of alternative medicine that aims to treat like with like. ... Mín Shān and Plum Flower brand Chinese patent medicine Chinese patent medicine (Traditional Chinese: 中成藥, Simplified Chinese: 中成药, pinyin: zhōng chéng yào) is a kind of Chinese herbology. ... Opodeldoc is a name given by the physician Paracelsus to a sort of liniment which he invented, or at least bestowed this name on. ... Pietro Longhi: The Charlatan, 1757 Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe questionable medical practices. ... For snake oil in cryptography, see Snake oil (cryptography) Clark Stanleys Snake Oil Liniment. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The universal panacea (PAN-ah-see-ah), one of the goals sought by many alchemists, was a remedy that would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely. ... Dr. Williams Pink Pills for Pale People was a medicine produced by Dr. Williams Medicine Company in the 1900s that claimed to cure chorea, referenced frequently in newspaper headlines as St. ... Tono-Bungay is arguably H.G. Wells best novel and certainly his most under-rated. ... Blue mass was the name of a medicine prescribed, made, and sold in the United States in the 1800s. ...

References

• Nostrums and Quackery, reprints articles from the Journal of the American Medical Association, no editor named; (Chicago: American Medical Association Press, 1912)
• The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser, Dr. R. V. Pierce, MD, eighty-third edition (World's Dispensary, 1917), available from Project Gutenberg
• The Golden Age of Quackery, Stewart A. Holbrook. (Boston: MacMillan & Co., 1959)
• The Great American Medicine Show, David and Elizabeth M. Armstrong, (New York, Prentice-Hall, 1991) ISBN 0-13-364027-2
• History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills, Shaw, Robert B. (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1972)

JAMA, published continuously since in 1883, is an international peer-reviewed general medical journal published 48 times per year. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

External links

• Dr. Bob's Homepage for Medical Quackery
• Here Today, Here Tomorrow: Varieties of Medical Ephemera at the National Library of Medicine
• The Great American Fraud online exhibit at Vanderbilt Medical Library. Contains an etext of two of the Samuel Hopkins Adams exposés.
• The Toadstool Millionaires by James Harvey Young (1961), reproduced at Quackwatch by permission of Princeton University Press
• History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills by Robert B. Shaw