Happy New Year and welcome to The Quack Doctor! For more information about this new blog, please have a look at the About page. I’ll be posting transcripts of historical advertisements for all sorts of weird and wonderful patent medicines, with the aim of building up quite a collection. I’m hoping to post daily for the first fortnight to get it started off, then after that it’ll be two or three times a week. At least, that’s the plan, barring any computer disasters.
For now, though, let’s start with an advert from this day in 1818, for a medicine so powerful it even makes you impervious to the weather…
SOLD by TREWMAN and Co. Exeter.
THE celebrated ANTI-IMPETIGINES, or
SOLOMON’s DROPS (without mercury, or any
deletarious preparation,) for the cure of the Scurvy, Scro-
fula, Leprosy, and all disorders originating in an impure
state of the blood, strengthen the constitution, purify the
blood, and promote the circulation of the fluids.
They are gentle, and almost imperceptible, in their ope-
ration—the best substitute that has ever been discovered for
that dangerous mineral Mercury, sweetening the blood,
stimulating it to expel all noxious and impure juices, and
giving strength and tone to the nerves, enlivening and in-
vigorating both body and mind.
In the King’s Evil, Stroma or Scrofula, it restores health
and vigour. The directions given with each bottle are
plain, and its application is attended with little or no
trouble. Hail, rain or snow, can be no obstacle to any
person taking this medicine. It is well established as a
fact, that an impure or scrofulous taint will remain in the
habit for years, nay, for generations, undiscovered, and will
invade the noblest organs of the human frame, before the
patient can be aware of his danger. The Anti-Impetigines
strikes at the root, not at the branches, and with this pe-
culiar advantage effects a cure when other medicines fail.
Price 11s. a bottle, or family bottles, containing four at a
11s. for 33s. on which 11s. is saved.
With each bottle is given a copious bill of directions,
and select illustrations of the efficacy of the Anti-Impeti-
gines, or which is more commonly denominated Solomon’s
Drops, the Government label or stamp of which has the
words “SAML. SOLOMON, LIVERPOOL,” engraven
thereon, to protect those who buy from the intrusion of
counterfeit imitations.
Source: Trewman’s Exeter Flying Post: Or, Plymouth and Cornish Advertiser, Thursday, 1st January, 1818
Note: “Deletarious” and “four at a 11s.” as in original.
Kind of chills my own blood a bit to think about how they tested drugs back in the day. I zeroed in on the bit about how they recognized that Mercury was dangerous. I remember one of my teachers saying how when she was growing up in the 1950’s that she was actually allowed to play with Mercury because nobody thought anything of it. Thanks for posting this!