About the Project
History of Patent Medicine
Patent medicine (AKA proprietary medicine or nostrum) is the name for products sold over-the-counter as medicine, often with little to no actual health benefits. They are usually heavily advertised, and the manufacturers of these formulas often claim that they are "miracle cures" or medical panaceas. Although patent medicines originated in England (“Balm of America: Patent Medicine Collection -- History”), they have been more popular in the U.S. than anywhere else. The "golden age" of patent medicines in the U.S. spanned from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century (“Patent Medicine, 1860-1920”). Despite their name, these products were rarely actually patented. Early formulas included plenty of alcohol, cocaine, morphine, and opium, and ingredients were often kept secret. Products from the patent medicine era that are still used today include Bayer Aspirin, Luden's Throat Drops, and Vicks VapoRub.
Much of the reason behind the popularity of patent medicine in the United States lies in the medical environment of the time. American doctors were not very trusted by the public during this time period due to high rates of death in hospitals and often unsanitary conditions (Michaels). As this was prior to the widespread adoption of germ theory, hygiene practices we consider basic today were rarely followed, such as doctors sanitizing instruments between patients or washing their hands. In fact, many doctors during this time period viewed wearing the same bloody clothes all day as a mark of their prowess; in a doctor's eyes, a bloody apron meant that they had done their job and were a capable surgeon (Nastasi). In the mid-1800s, Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis suggested that doctors begin washing their hands and instruments in a chlorine solution between patients after seeing the practice cause childbed fever death rates to drop at his own hospital. Doctors took offense to the idea that they could possibily be infecting patients, and Semmelweis was completely ostracized by the medical community (Davis).
It will come as no surprise that wealthy people often opted to pay for a physican to come treat them at home, thereby drastically lowering their risk of infection and almost guaranteeing themselves a higher standard of care and better outcomes. As a result, many people during the 1800s and early 1900s saw hospitals as a place where poor people went to die (Michaels).
For those who feared dying in a hospital but needed treatment, patent medicines were an attractive alternative. For just a few dollars, one could purchase a tonic that promised to relieve all their ailments. As you can see in the collection, these products often made lofty claims. Take Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Remedy, for example, which claims that "for all diseases of the kidneys it is the greatest remedy in the world." These products were completely unregulated for many years, giving aspiring entrepreneurs a chance to make a great deal of money flexing their advertising skills.
Many consumers felt patent medicines were effective treatments. However, this is largely because of the large doses of alcohol, cocaine, morphine, and opium included in the formulation of the drugs (“Balm of America: Patent Medicine Collection -- History"). The consumer would not see an end to their ailments, but the drugs would distract them from their pain for a while. Since the formulas for early patent medicines were often top-secret, their makers could claim the drug was a miracle cure without needing to reveal the addictive substances in the product. In 1906 U.S. Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, mandating that patent medicines have their ingredients listed on the label, and eventually leading to a decline in the popularity of the product (“History of Patent Medicine”).
Project Focus
"Miracle Cures: 19th-20th Century Patent Medicine Packaging and Advertisements" includes patent medicine packaging and advertisements from museums and libraries across the United States. The sources used in this collection include:
- National Museum of American History
- Yale University, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library
- University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences Library
- U.S. National Library of Medicine
- University of Minnesota Libraries, Wangensteen Historical Library
Objects in the collection range from glass bottles, to cardboard boxes, to trade cards and posters. There are a total of 34 items in the collection. In order to be included in the collection, I subjected each asset to the following criteria:
- Must have been created between the mid-1800s and the early 1900s (roughly 1850-1930).
- Must be a form of packaging or print advertisement for a patent medicine product.
- Must be a product intended for humans (rather than animals).