Dr Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People

Here’s another big-business remedy, this time originating in Canada. “Dr Williams” was a brand name, and the pills were manufactured by George T. Fulford of Brockville, Ontario. Born in 1852, Fulford went into the patent medicine business in 1886 and four years later bought the rights to the Pink Pills recipe from Dr William Jackson for $53.01. The Pills arrived in Britain by 1893, and the company had premises on Holborn Viaduct, London.

The Pink Pills included ferrous sulphate, so they would have had a geniune effect against anaemia, but they were weaker and far more expensive than the ordinary iron pills commonly prescribed by physicians.

Fulford, who was appointed to the Senate in 1900, used an “advertorial” style to promote his products. The ads, like the one below,  appeared to be news stories reporting a miracle in some distant town – the miracle always turning out to be a result of someone taking Dr Williams’ Pink Pills.

In 1905, Senator Fulford had the dubious honour of becoming the first Canadian to be killed in an automobile accident, but his company remained in business until 1989.

REMARKABLE AFFAIR IN YORKSHIRE.–The daugh-
ter of Mr.  J.  Bridges,  42,  Foljambe-road,  Eastwood
View,  Rotherham,  has  been  the  theme  of  a  well-
authenticated report in the Yorkshire papers, the facts
having been investigated, and the  lady and her parents
seen, by press representatives. Miss Bridges at seven-
teen was described by her parents as “prematurely old.”
She could  not  eat,  had  no  strength,  and  was  nearly
copper-coloured, suffering severely from palpitation of
the heart. But when seen  by  the  reporter  she  was  in
the bloom of health, eating and sleeping well and quite
free from heart-trouble, with complexion  like  the  rose
—a recovery entirely due to the now  famous  remedy,
Dr.   Williams’  Pink  Pills  for  Pale  People.    When
a    girl    is   pale,   weak,   easily   “tired   out,”   trou-
bled   with    headache,    backache,    pain    in    the
side;   when   her  temper  is  fitful  and  her  appetite
poor—she  is  in  a  condition  of  extreme  peril, a fit
subject for the development of the most  dreaded  of
all diseases—consumption. Dr. Williams’  Pink  Pills
will assist the patient to  develop  properly  and  regu-
larly; they will enrich  the  blood,  and  danger  of  con-
sumption and premature death will be  averted.   Pru-
dent mothers will insist  upon  their  daughters  taking
Dr.  Williams’  Pink  Pills  upon  the  approach  of  the
period of womanhood and thus avoid all  chances  of
disease or early decay.   The  same  medicine  cures
rheumatism, sciatica, neuralgia, paralysis,  locomotor
ataxy, nervous headache, scrofula, chronic erysipelas,
and influenza. A specific for the female sex.
In   men   they   cure   all   cases   from   worry,   over-
work, or excesses. Sold by  Dr.  Williams’  Medicine
Company,  46,  Holborn  Viaduct,  London,  and   by
chemists, at 2s. 9d. a box, or six boxes 13s. 9d., post
free.  Only  genuine  in  pink  wrapper  with  full  name,
Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People.

Source:  The Derby Mercury, Wednesday 10 April 1895