History's medical advertisers and their remedies

Dr Ralph’s Pills

ADvent Calendar Day 2

Dr Ralph’s Pills and the ‘Ralphian Theory’ appear to have been inspired by the Hygeist principles of James Morison, who introduced Vegetable Universal Pills to Britain in 1825. Joseph Ralph’s system, like that of Morison, comprised two varieties of remedy – the Alterative Purgatives (No. 1) and the Gentle Aperients (No. 2.). Taking pill no. 1 required courage and a tough constitution:

‘The slime and bilious humors they separate and bring away from the intestinal canal and liver, are frequently so acrimonious as to give a scalding sensation as they pass by stool.’

No. 2 was a less violent laxative said to have a ‘pretty regular’ effect on the bowels of most patients, enabling them to time the dose so that the results would occur at a convenient moment.

Image: Library of Congress

Quotation source: Ralph, Joseph, A Domestic Guide to Medicine, 1835

One thought on “Dr Ralph’s Pills”

Rebecca Bickerton says:

December 2, 2013 at 11:12 am

Love the advent calender am looking forward to tomorrows. I’m doing an art one myself http://articulatelondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/advent-caldender-2013-day-2.html

Comments are closed.

A Fortune Built on Sand: Health Grains

In early 20th-century New York, a mailman introduced a new patent medicine called Health Grains for indigestion – but the ingredients were far from beneficial. Mrs Bertha Bertsche, a 38-year-old widow, could often be found supervising the pans on the kitchen range at her home in Glebe Avenue, Westchester Square, New York. Inside the pans, […]

Victorian asthma cigarettes: who was Dr Batty?

While browsing your local newspaper in the 1890s, an asthma-cure advertisement might distract you from tales of the latest sensational crimes. ‘Agreeable to use, certain in their effects, and harmless in their action, they may be safely smoked by ladies and children,’ ran the promotional copy. The product was Cigares de Joy, handy little cigarettes […]

Sanitized Tape Worms - a spurious 'vintage' ad

‘Eat! Eat! Eat!’ Those notorious tapeworm diet pills

Peoria, Illinois, 1912: the horror begins. A society lady, encouraged by a friend’s success with an easy new weight-loss treatment, pays $25 for ‘two rather large and suspicious-looking pills.’ Her husband sends the pills to be analysed by the Washington public health service, and before long a ‘government secret official’ appears, informing him that the […]