Balm of America: Patent Medicine Collection

About the Collection
The Smithsonian Institution began to collect objects related to health and medicine in 1881. It first obtained examples of patent medicines in 1930, acquiring packages of Haarlem Oil (or Dutch Drops), Dr. John Hooper’s Female Pills, and Roche’s Herbal Embrocation. Since then the Smithsonian’s collection of patent medicines has expanded to over 4,000 products, dating from the 19th century to the present day.

About this Object Group
This group of objects features examples from this collection, found in the Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History. Each entry includes a photo of the object, the product’s name, maker’s name, place of manufacture, and a date range. Ingredients and therapeutic claims are included when indicated on the product packaging.

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Browse the collection by therapeutic category. You can also use the keyword search (at right) which searches all fields of information.

More Information
Learn more about patent medicine history and how this history is revealed in examples from our collection. Questions or comments? Contact us.

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: These Pills are unsurpassed as a thorough and active anti-bilious remedy in all acute attacks.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: These Pills are unsurpassed as a thorough and active anti-bilious remedy in all acute attacks.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
pre-1906
maker
Dr. C. Wakefield and Company
ID Number
MG.274347.265
catalog number
274347.265
accession number
274347
catalog number
M-12140
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For healing wire cutsCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For healing wire cuts
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
W. F. Berry Medicine Company
ID Number
2014.0010.01
catalog number
2014.0010.01
accession number
2014.0010
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1900
maker
Dr. Benj Godfrey
ID Number
ZZ.RSN81533G56
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Remedy for Colic, Cholera, and Diarrhea.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Remedy for Colic, Cholera, and Diarrhea.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1882-1906
maker
Chamberlain Medicine Company
ID Number
2008.3006.123
nonaccession number
2008.3006
catalog number
2008.3006.123
Brown and gold-colored tin with hinged lid and decorative motif on sides and borders. Tin is empty. Original contents: one grain capsules of Glycogen. Probably imported from France by E.
Description
Brown and gold-colored tin with hinged lid and decorative motif on sides and borders. Tin is empty. Original contents: one grain capsules of Glycogen. Probably imported from France by E. Fougera and Company of New York.
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: In tuberculosis, typhoid fever, scarlatina, furunculosis [infection of the hair follicle], diphtheria, influenza, in neurasthenic conditions, weak heart, migraine, morphinism, tobaccoism, etc.
Antitoxic and distinctly bactericidal, stimulating the natural resistance of the organism to pathogenic invasions.
In the early 1900s, French doctor, Jacques de Nittis, introduced the therapeutic use of glycogen, a naturally occuring substance which stores carbohydrates in the body. The substance was thought to help increase the production of white blood cells and thus help the body fight off infection. It was also employed in wasting conditions such as those brought on by cancer, tuberculosis, and diabetes, to help rebuild strenghth and weight.
SEE: de Nittis, Jacques, "Glycogen, A Therapeutic Aid (Translated from the Tribune Medicale, April 2, 1904.)" in Southern Medicine, Volume 11, No. 3, September, 1904, pp 11-12.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1905
maker
E. Fougera and Company
ID Number
2019.0068.01
catalog number
2019.0068.01
accession number
2019.0068
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Indicated as a pleasant, quick acting, effective antacid relieving upset stomach, hyperacidity, fullness, sour stomach, heartburn, and other forms of distress due to over-indulgence in food or drink.Cur
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Indicated as a pleasant, quick acting, effective antacid relieving upset stomach, hyperacidity, fullness, sour stomach, heartburn, and other forms of distress due to over-indulgence in food or drink.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1880
after 1907
maker
A. Brioschi and Company
ID Number
1979.1144.029
accession number
1979.1144
catalog number
1979.1144.029
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1906
1908-1918
maker
Mothersill Remedy Company, Ltd.
ID Number
MG.293320.3018
catalog number
293320.3018
accession number
293320
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1906-1908
maker
Baltimore Chewing Gum Company
ID Number
MG.293320.1393
catalog number
293320.1392
accession number
293320
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1906
1908-1918
maker
Chamberlain Medicine Company
ID Number
MG.M-10766 [dup53]
catalog number
M-10766
accession number
256193
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1909
maker
Norwich Pharmacal Company
ID Number
1986.0198.101
accession number
1986.0198
catalog number
1986.0198.101
Cylindrical glass bottle with metal screw-on cap and paper, wrap-around labels. Label on neck of bottle is blue with black print, and has images of medals awarded. Main label is brown with black and red print.
Description
Cylindrical glass bottle with metal screw-on cap and paper, wrap-around labels. Label on neck of bottle is blue with black print, and has images of medals awarded. Main label is brown with black and red print. Bottle is full of contents / unopened.
Maker: Pharmacie Astier, 72 Avenue Kleber, Paris
Dose/Directions: Deux Cuillerees a Cafe par jour dans du vin ou dans tout autre liquide aqueux (Two teaspoons per day in wine or any other aqueous liquid)
Indications per label: aliment d'epargne; anti-neurasthenique; regulator du coeur; excitant du systeme musculare (anti-neurasthenic; heart regulator; muscular system stimulant)
This item is part of a collection of pharmaceutical products exhibited by the French companies, Astier Pharmacie and Clin et Cie., at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco, California, in 1915. Following the close of exhibition, the objects were donated to the Smithsonian by the French Commission to the exposition.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1900
maker
Phamacie Astier
ID Number
MG.59672.12
maker number
341184
accession number
59672
catalog number
59672.12
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1908
c. 1906 -1908
maker
E. C. DeWitt and Company
ID Number
MG.M-10766 [dup24]
catalog number
M-10766
accession number
256193
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
c. 1906
maker
King's Pure Malt Department
ID Number
MG.M-10767.10
catalog number
M-10767.10
accession number
256193
256193
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: To relieve colds, nervous and sick headache, rhuematic and neuralgic pains, toothache, backache, sprains, bruises and burns.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: To relieve colds, nervous and sick headache, rhuematic and neuralgic pains, toothache, backache, sprains, bruises and burns.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1906
maker
George H. Rundle Company
ID Number
2008.0018.213
catalog number
2008.0018.213
accession number
2008.0018
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Blood purifier. For pimples, blotches, &c. Being vegetable, it can be taken safely at any season. It has no equal as a general tonic and appetizer.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Blood purifier. For pimples, blotches, &c. Being vegetable, it can be taken safely at any season. It has no equal as a general tonic and appetizer.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1906
ID Number
1979.0798.130
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.130
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Recommended for backache caused by kidney disfunction, for increasing the flow of urine and releiving bladder discomfort and painful urination.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Recommended for backache caused by kidney disfunction, for increasing the flow of urine and releiving bladder discomfort and painful urination.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1908
maker
Davis & Lawrence Company
ID Number
2008.0018.004
accession number
2008.0018
catalog number
2008.0018.004
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1906
maker
W. P. Cabler Root Juice Medicine Company
ID Number
MG.M-10719.20
catalog number
M-10719.20
accession number
254860
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: This Liniment has (?) used extensively in a variety of cases such as Rhuematism, Inflammation of the Bladder and Kidneys, Cramps, Colic, Burns, Bruises, Neuralgia, Toothache, Headache, and Diphtheria.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: This Liniment has (?) used extensively in a variety of cases such as Rhuematism, Inflammation of the Bladder and Kidneys, Cramps, Colic, Burns, Bruises, Neuralgia, Toothache, Headache, and Diphtheria. It is also good for Horses and Cattle, and a horse Liniment has not equal.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
Davis, J. F.
ID Number
2008.0018.135
accession number
2008.0018
catalog number
2008.0018.135
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Wasting diseases where the patient's digestive powers are greatly enfeebled and the general tone of the system is much reduced from exhaustion.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Wasting diseases where the patient's digestive powers are greatly enfeebled and the general tone of the system is much reduced from exhaustion. Anemia, nervous prostration, neuralgia, ination or any of the numerous forms of chronic gastric disturbance accompanied by loss of appetite , insomnia, mental depression, etc. Infants from one week to two years old that are puny and feeble and do not thrive upon their diet can be restored to health and their rapid growth.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1909
maker
Bovinine Company
ID Number
2008.0018.204
catalog number
2008.0018.204
accession number
2008.0018
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. mid-19th century
ID Number
MG.256193.356
catalog number
M-10755
accession number
256193
catalog number
256193.356
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1898-1901
maker
Garfield Tea Company
ID Number
MG.M-10237.01
catalog number
M-10237.01
accession number
241520
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For colds, headache, neuralgia.Currently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For colds, headache, neuralgia.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1905
maker
National Drug and Chemical Company
ID Number
2008.0018.029
catalog number
2008.0018.029
accession number
2008.0018
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Intended to help relieve pain of neuralgia and neuralgic headache. Also used for muscular aches and pains.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Intended to help relieve pain of neuralgia and neuralgic headache. Also used for muscular aches and pains.
date made
after 1906
maker
Sterling Products Inc.
ID Number
AG.P73.2759.09
catalog number
P73.2759.09
accession number
P73.2759
catalog number
P73.2759.09
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: laxativeCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: laxative
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
Tak-A-Lax Co.
ID Number
2008.0018.093
catalog number
2008.0018.093
accession number
2008.0018

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