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

No information about indications or use are provided on the packaging.The Howard Brothers of Buffalo, New York produced this bottle of Dr. Pettit’s American Eye Water around 1900. In 1842 Dr.
Description
No information about indications or use are provided on the packaging.
The Howard Brothers of Buffalo, New York produced this bottle of Dr. Pettit’s American Eye Water around 1900. In 1842 Dr. James Pettit formulated the eye salve in Fredonia, New York, selling the business to Edward and Clarence Howard in 1876. The Howard Brothers moved the company to Buffalo, New York in 1888. Dr. Pettit’s American Eye Water was used to sooth irritated eyes.
date made
ca 1900
maker
Howard Brothers
ID Number
2008.0062.23
accession number
2008.0062
catalog number
2008.0062.23
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Used since 1900 for the relief of Pain and Discomfort in Simple Headaches and Neuralgias, Head Colds, Muscular Aches and Pains, and as a gargle for relief of minor throat irritations.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Used since 1900 for the relief of Pain and Discomfort in Simple Headaches and Neuralgias, Head Colds, Muscular Aches and Pains, and as a gargle for relief of minor throat irritations. Does 1-2 tablets with water 3 to 4 times daily as required. Genuine Bayer Aspirin Tablets are made exclusively by the Bayer Company, Inc., Originators of Aspirin.
Aspirin, acetyl salicylic acid, was developed in the late 19th century at the Bayer company in Elberfeld, Germany. In 1900, Bayer received a patent for the drug in the United States and also registered the trademark name, Aspirin. The patent expired in 1917, and the trademark was partly struck down in a 1921 court ruling. The judge ruled that the aspirin name had passed into the public domain and that packages of 50 or less tablets could be sold to the public as "aspirin" by any manufacturer. The red script "Genuine," featured on this tin, appeared in Bayer Tablets of Aspirin advertising shortly after the 1921 ruling and was incorporated in the product label.
date made
ca 1930
maker
Bayer Company, Inc.
ID Number
MG.312608.342
catalog number
312608.342
accession number
312608
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Dose 1 to 3 tablets taken with water. The trademark "Aspirin" (reg. U. S. pat.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Dose 1 to 3 tablets taken with water. The trademark "Aspirin" (reg. U. S. pat. office) is a guarantee that the monoaceticacidester of salicylicacid in these tablets is of the reliable Bayer manufacture.
in 1915 Bayer began producing tablets of aspirin and marketing them directly to the public as "Bayer Tablets of Aspirin." Prior to this time the popular drug was sold only to medical professionals, pharmacists and pharmaceutical firms. Bayer stamped each tablet of aspirin with the company logo, the Bayer Cross. The company launched this new marketing strategy in anticipation of the expiration of their aspirin patent in 1917.
date made
ca 1917
maker
Bayer Company, Inc.
ID Number
MG.314637.12600
catalog number
314637.12600
accession number
314637
maker
Pond Pharmacal Company
ID Number
MG.314016.062
catalog number
314016.062
accession number
314016
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Scott's Emulsion, Active Ingredient Cod Liver Oil, four times easier to digest than plain Cod Liver Oil.Guarantee: We guarantee that Scott’s Emulsion when assayed biologically contained sufficient Vitamin A and
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Scott's Emulsion, Active Ingredient Cod Liver Oil, four times easier to digest than plain Cod Liver Oil.
Guarantee: We guarantee that Scott’s Emulsion when assayed biologically contained sufficient Vitamin A and Vitamin D units to meet the daily dosage requirements of the Council of Pharmacy and Chemistry of the American Medical Association and furnishes full minimum daily requirements for these vitamins if taken as recommended below.
Children: Scott's Emulsion should be given to children to help build resistance to rickets and to aid in growth of bone structure and development of teeth.
Adults: In cases where there is a lack of Vitamin A, Scott's Emulsion presents a palatable way in which to help overcome this deficiency, and help build resistance to colds.
As a Year Around Tonic: Scott's Emulsion is an excellent protection against deficiencies in Vitamin A and D which may occur at any season of the year.
Dosage: Adults and Children: 1 tablespoonful two or three times daily after meals.
date made
ca 1950s
maker
Eno-Scott & Bowne
ID Number
2008.0018.243
catalog number
2008.0018.243
accession number
2008.0018
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:"Oxy-Cue" antiseptic dusting powder - easing, soothing, cooling, deodorizing - for tired feet. "Pop" for Corns - works on your corns or callus while you're on the job or asleep.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
"Oxy-Cue" antiseptic dusting powder - easing, soothing, cooling, deodorizing - for tired feet. "Pop" for Corns - works on your corns or callus while you're on the job or asleep. "X-L" Concentrate - to relieve the discomfort of athlete's foot, and itching toes.
date made
1941-1945
retailer
Sherman Pharmacy
maker
Radio Drugs
ID Number
1985.0460.110
accession number
1985.0460
catalog number
1985.0460.110
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:A stomach tonic. For nervousness, catarrh of the head and stomach, scrofulous humor, canker, pimples and humors on the face, summer complaints, female weaknesses. Restores the appetite, purifies the blood.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
A stomach tonic. For nervousness, catarrh of the head and stomach, scrofulous humor, canker, pimples and humors on the face, summer complaints, female weaknesses. Restores the appetite, purifies the blood. For dyspepsia, constipation, sick headache, dizziness, low spirits caused by disordered stomach, rheumatism, neuralgia, kidney and liver complaints, bilious attacks, piles, malaria, torpidity of the system, languor, general debility, fever and ague.
date made
1885-1908
maker
Quaker Bitters Company
ID Number
MG.M-12151.01
catalog number
M-12151.01
accession number
271464
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Recommended in non-surgical cases for those weaknesses and disorders which have heretofore been known as female complaints.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Recommended in non-surgical cases for those weaknesses and disorders which have heretofore been known as female complaints. After 40 years this medicine is considered by us an excellent rememdy for female complaints. For Maid or Matron, it is specially recommended for young girls just entering womanhood, and for those at the "turn of life."
Dose: 1 tablespoonful 3 times a day, taken in water or water and sugar
The label on the side of the box reads: "For Maid and Matron: This is not a sweetened Stomach Bitters, recommended for any and everything that the flesh is heir to, but it is a Prescription formulated expressly for the relief of disease for which it is recommended."
date made
after 1906
maker
J. P. Dromgoole Company
ID Number
MG.274347.224
catalog number
274347.224
accession number
274347
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Recommended as a vegetable tonic in conditions for which this preparation is adapted. In use for over 50 years.Dose: A tablespoonful every four hours through the day.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Recommended as a vegetable tonic in conditions for which this preparation is adapted. In use for over 50 years.
Dose: A tablespoonful every four hours through the day. Shake the bottle before using.
Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was prescribed for “all those Painful Complaints and Weaknesses so common to our best female population . . . and is particularly adapted to the Change of Life.”
date made
ca 1920s
maker
Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company
ID Number
MG.293320.1616
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.1616
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:By taking the contents of this small bottle, you will readily perceive the remarkable curative qualities of this great New Discovery for Consumption, Coughs, Colds, and all Diseases of the Throat, Chest and Lun
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
By taking the contents of this small bottle, you will readily perceive the remarkable curative qualities of this great New Discovery for Consumption, Coughs, Colds, and all Diseases of the Throat, Chest and Lungs, which will convince you of its wonderful merits, and show you what can be done by a regular one dollar size bottle. Give it a trial. Dose for adults one teaspoonful every three hours.
Proprietary (patent) medicine makers employed a wide array of advertising and marketing techniques to sell their products. The free sample, or trial size, was one of these. Dr. King's New Discovery, developed by Dr. Z. L. King of Elkhart, Indianna, was purchased by Herbert E. Bucklen around 1878. Bucklen spent lavishly on advertising which brought national recognition to his New Discovery and other medicines.
date made
ca 1905
maker
H.E. Bucklen and Company
ID Number
MG.293320.1237
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.1237
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:Cures dyspepsia, sick headache, loss of appetite, heartburn, depression, neuralgia, female disorders, liver complaint, constipation, indigestion, rheumatism, impure blood, jaundice, bilious attacks, feve
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
Cures dyspepsia, sick headache, loss of appetite, heartburn, depression, neuralgia, female disorders, liver complaint, constipation, indigestion, rheumatism, impure blood, jaundice, bilious attacks, fever and ague, and all diseases of the stomach, liver, kidneys and the blood
date made
1881-1906
Date made
after 1881
maker
Healy & Bigelow
ID Number
MG.293320.1221
catalog number
293320.1221
accession number
293320
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: A soothing dressing for Burns, Minor Cuts, Skin Irritations, Sunburn, Frost Bites, Chafing, and a valuable aid in the Nursery.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: A soothing dressing for Burns, Minor Cuts, Skin Irritations, Sunburn, Frost Bites, Chafing, and a valuable aid in the Nursery. A relief for Nasal and Throat Irritations Due to Colds.
Location
Currently not on view (box)
Date made
after 1920
maker
Chesebrough Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1985.0475.594
accession number
1985.0475
catalog number
1985.0475.594
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:For relieving hot flashes and certain other symptoms of "Change of Life" (Menopause) and cramps and other distress of Monthly Periods (Menstruation) - not due to organic disease. Acts as a uterine sedative.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
For relieving hot flashes and certain other symptoms of "Change of Life" (Menopause) and cramps and other distress of Monthly Periods (Menstruation) - not due to organic disease. Acts as a uterine sedative. Taken as directed these tablets are also an iron tonic and help build rich, red blood and restore energy, help relieve that "Too Tired" feeling, in simple iron deficiency anemia.
date made
after 1949
maker
Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company
ID Number
2008.0018.085
catalog number
2008.0018.085
accession number
2008.0018
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Cures consumption, hemorrages, asthma, bronchitis, croup, whooping cough, hoarseness, coughs, colds, tickling in the throat, loss of voice, cankered throat, chronic weakness of the lungs, and all diseases of th
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Cures consumption, hemorrages, asthma, bronchitis, croup, whooping cough, hoarseness, coughs, colds, tickling in the throat, loss of voice, cankered throat, chronic weakness of the lungs, and all diseases of the throat and lungs
date made
before 1909
maker
B. H. Bacon Company
ID Number
2008.0062.18
accession number
2008.0062
catalog number
2008.0062.18
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:For menstrual disturbances of women such as irregularity, exaggeration, suppression, etc.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
For menstrual disturbances of women such as irregularity, exaggeration, suppression, etc. For irregular, painful or delayed menstruation, suppressed or delayed menses, painful menstruation, profuse or too frequent flow of menses, whites, falling of the womb, change of life, and as a general restorative for delicate women. Menstrual irregularities and uterine and ovarian troubles.
date made
1906-1908
maker
Chattanooga Medicine Company
ID Number
1978.0235.274
accession number
1978.0235
catalog number
1978.0235.274
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:For producing bowel movements. Tiny vegetable laxative pills that are easy to swallow.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are:
For producing bowel movements. Tiny vegetable laxative pills that are easy to swallow. Adults: Some persons may need stronger laxatives than others and according to such needs one to three pills should be taken at bedtime, as indicated for occasional constipation. Not for use by children. Caution: not to be used when abdominal pain (stomach ache, cramps, colic) nausea, vomiting (stomach sickness) or other symptoms of appendicitis are present. Frequent or continued use of this preparation may result in dependence on laxatives.
date made
ca 1930
maker
Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company
ID Number
1978.0883.198
accession number
1978.0883
catalog number
1978.0883.198
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: To help relieve pain and distress resulting from simple headaches, head colds, fatigued muscles, and neuralgic conditions
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: To help relieve pain and distress resulting from simple headaches, head colds, fatigued muscles, and neuralgic conditions
date made
ca 1940
maker
Brown Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1979.0798.322
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.322
[No indications or uses for this product are provided on its packaging.]
Description
[No indications or uses for this product are provided on its packaging.]
date made
ca 1930
maker
Southern Drug Company
ID Number
1979.0798.399
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.399
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Used since 1922 for the relief of pain and discomfort in simple headaches, muscular aches and pains, and as a gargle for relief of minor throat irritations
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: Used since 1922 for the relief of pain and discomfort in simple headaches, muscular aches and pains, and as a gargle for relief of minor throat irritations
date made
ca 1925
maker
World's Products Company
ID Number
1979.0798.403
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.403
[No indications or uses for this product are provided on its packaging.]
Description
[No indications or uses for this product are provided on its packaging.]
Date made
after 1926
maker
St. Joseph Company
ID Number
1979.0798.404
accession number
1979.0798
catalog number
1979.0798.404
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: An aid to good health. Candy laxative and internal antiseptic.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: An aid to good health. Candy laxative and internal antiseptic.
Date made
after 1923
copyright date (on packaging)
1919
maker
Partola Products Co.
ID Number
1979.0798.408
catalog number
1979.0798.408
accession number
1979.0798
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:The Great Family Remedy for all diseases of the stomach, liver and kidneys, biliousness, general debility, fever and ague, jaundice, blood disorders, and diseases of the urinary organs, neuralgia, nervousness a
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
The Great Family Remedy for all diseases of the stomach, liver and kidneys, biliousness, general debility, fever and ague, jaundice, blood disorders, and diseases of the urinary organs, neuralgia, nervousness and mental depression. As an appetizer they are unequalled.
DOSE: For an adult: Take from one to three tablespoonsful, three times a day, before or after meals, according to age and constitution of the patient. Weak and delicate constitutions should commence with one tablespoonful, reduced with sweetened water, and increase as the case demands.
date made
ca 1908-1914
maker
H.E. Bucklen and Company
ID Number
2004.0050.03
accession number
2004.0050
catalog number
2004.0050.03
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Great Seal Aspirin Tablets are of great value for the relief of pain in headaches, common head colds, simple neuralgia and muscular aches and pains.
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Great Seal Aspirin Tablets are of great value for the relief of pain in headaches, common head colds, simple neuralgia and muscular aches and pains.
date made
ca 1930
maker
Styron-Beggs Co.
ID Number
2005.0100.067
accession number
2005.0100
catalog number
2005.0100.067

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