Victorian

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 […]

Stevens's Ointment for Horses

Henry Rowe Stevens was a respected veterinary surgeon and farrier who spent the first 20 years of his career at Newmarket before moving to London in the 1850s. His adverts suggest that he had a humane and progressive outlook, as he condemned the traditional practice of firing (i.e. placing a red-hot iron against the leg in […]

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 […]

To Fat Persons

This is an interesting advert because there is nothing blatant about it. It doesn’t appear to be selling anything and it’s difficult to see what Mr. F. Russell has to gain. To the average reader, this could simply be a kind-hearted gentleman so excited about having lost weight that he wants to share the secret […]

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 […]

I Cure Fits!

“Dr.” H. G. Root was a New York chemist whose remedy (not named in most of his adverts) was called Elepizone. According to Martindale’s Extra Pharmacopaeia of 1892, it was made of “bromide of sodium 30 grains, bromide of ammonium 30 grains, bromide of potassium 20 grains, tincture of nux vomica 15 minims, with caramel q.s. […]

Corns, Bunions and Deformed Nails

This chiropodist appears to have been a fine, upstanding member of the community rather than a charlatan – but his advertisement has just enough of the yuk factor to make it worth including. Joel Farbstein was born in Warsaw in about 1820 but probably spent some time in London before settling in Hull in the 1840s. […]

Holland's Balsam of Spruce

Holland’s Balsam of Spruce is in the tradition of other tree resin remedies, such as Solomon’s Balm of Gilead and the Balsam of Mecca. Given that nearly 170 years later, a cure for the common cold remains as elusive as ever, this medicine would have been worth a punt – if nothing else, it was probably […]

Dr. De La Motte's Sassafras Chocolate

The sassafras tree is native to North America, and its healing properties were valued by Native Americans long before it became an export to the Old World. This 1848 advertisement lifts most of its text verbatim from Dr Richard Reece’s book, The Medical Guide, published in 1828. Neither Dr De La Motte nor the retailer can therefore be blamed for the […]

Monteet's Infallible Medicines

Monteet’s Medicines weren’t among the more famous of 19th-century remedies. The proprietor, R. Hodgson, advertised them quite heavily in the Northern Echo for a few months in 1880-81, but after that they disappear. There is no way to tell whether the various mixtures were all pretty much the same, but it wouldn’t be a surprise. My favourite […]