1890s advertising

Keating's Cough Lozenges

A 1s 1½d tin contained 50 lozenges, and the recommended dose was one or two lozenges at bedtime and up to 10 during the course of the day. The ingredients were morphine, ipecacuanha, extract of licorice, and sugar, held together by tragacanth gum. .      KEATING’S     COUGH        LOZENGES. “94, Commercial Road, Peckham, July 12, […]

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Cuticura Soap and Ointment

Skin “literally on fire”? Then you need Cuticura – or possibly a large bucket of water and a good plastic surgeon. Cuticura originated in the US in 1865 and had reached the UK by 1880. The famous company is, of course, still going strong with a wide range of top-quality skincare and haircare products, as […]

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Hood's Sarsaparilla

Hood’s Sarsaparilla was big business in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – you can get an idea how big from this picture of the Massachusetts laboratory. Adverts for it were everywhere, and there were also spin-off products such as calendars and cookbooks. GOOD BLOOD GOOD BLOOD Is essential to health. Every nook and […]

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Dr. Haines' Golden Specific

  Dr James Wilkins Haines was a Quaker physician from Cincinnati, and you can learn more about his eventful life at Karen Campbell’s Quaker Genealogy blog.   In 1917 the American Medical Association denounced his remedy (by then known as “Haines’ Golden Treatment”) as “a cruel humbug.” On analysing the powders, they found them to comprise […]

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Thompson & Capper's Corn and Wart Remover

  Thompson and Capper were homeopathic chemists who, as well as making their own medicines, published books and pamphlets on homeopathy. The company is still going strong today – based in Runcorn, they are a specialist manufacturer of all kinds of tablets, from medicines to kettle descalers, and there is more information about their history […]

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