Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil
Bear Grease for Bald Men
Wikipedia says: "Bear's grease was a popular treatment for men with hair loss from at least as early as 1653 until about the First World War." They obviously know nothing about Canadian Kelly Chamandy, who was still peddling the stuff in the 50s.When he finally came home for good at the end of the war, Kelly Chamandy was bald as an egg. Taking the advice of his Cree friends, he began massaging rendered bear fat into his scalp and, lo and behold, his hair began to grow back! The state of his pate, his Syrian peddler heritage, and his wilderness experience gave him a brilliant idea which led to his entrance into an ancient, unconventional, and all-but-forgotten industry: the bear grease market.
Big article on Chamandy here.
1953 Maclean's article here.
BTW, here's some bear fat for you.
Foto source.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 28, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, North America, Twentieth Century, Hair and Hairstyling, Head
Schenck’s Mandrake Pills
Source of ad.
Source of pic.
Click here for product brochure.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 23, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
The Seminal Pastille
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 10, 2019 -
Comments (3)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century, Genitals
Caloric Vita Oil
Source.
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 15, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century
Hostetter’s Bitters
Hostetter's "Celebrated" Bitters was a nostrum developed by Dr. Jacob Hostetter of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His son, David Hostetter, put the formula into large scale production in 1853 and it soon became a national best-seller. During the Civil War, Dr. J. Hostetter's Stomach Bitters was sold to soldiers as "a positive protective against the fatal maladies of the Southern swamps, and the poisonous tendency of the impure rivers and bayous." The original formula was about 47% alcohol -- 94 Proof! The amount of alcohol was so high that it was served in Alaskan saloons by the glass. Hostetter sweetened the alcohol with sugar to which he added a few aromatic oils (anise, coriander, etc.) and vegetable bitters (cinchona, gentian, etc.) to give it a medicinal flavor. From 1954 to 1958, when it was no longer marketed, the product was known as Hostetter Tonic.
More info here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 21, 2019 -
Comments (3)
Category: Antiques, Anachronisms and Throwbacks, Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, Alcohol
Lactagol
Source.
So far as I can tell, cottonseed of any variety does not promote breast milk production. Flaxseed however is another thing.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 13, 2018 -
Comments (1)
Category: Body, Pregnancy, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Babies and Toddlers, Nineteenth Century
Vital Power Vacuum Massager
A questionable medical device widely advertised in the early twentieth century.The article "Two Millennia of Impotence Cures" details some similar "equally flawed" devices including "the Erector-Sleigh, Gassensche Spirale, Gerson’s Constriction Bandage, and Virility, a double cylinder connected to a bellows to produce a vacuum."
If the Vital Power Vacuum Massager cost $15 in 1921, that would be around $500 today.
Jackson Daily News - Oct 30, 1921
via National Library of Medicine
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 25, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1920s
Dr. Pierce’s Medicines
The full story, with more pix.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 12, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century
Hair Dressing with Quinine
Source.
Source.
Eau de Quinine compound hair tonic was introduced in the 1850s by Ed. Pinaud’s (Edouard Pinaud), a Paris parfumerie. Advertisements indicate that the product was sold into the 1960s. Quinine is a toxic alkaloid derived from the cinchona tree. When heavily diluted, it was used in hair products, specifically as a treatment for hair loss. Pinaud’s was advertised as the favorite hair dressing of "Cultured Women" and the only tonic "used by the crowned heads of Europe." It was an "indispensable preparation for the refined toilet" with a "delicate fragrance that overpowers the unpleasant effects of excessive oiliness on the scalp. Pinaud’s product was imported to the United States from France and many barbers apparently tried to pass off domestic preparations as genuine Eau de Quinine. In the mid-1920s, Pinaud filed an injunction against companies making the counterfeit product.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 27, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Advertising, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Hair Styling, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
Follies of the Madmen #349
FRANK ZAPPA'S LUDEN'S COUGH DROPS COMMERCIAL from ED SEEMAN on Vimeo.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 31, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Music, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1960s
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |