Orangeine: Death in a Box
Original ad here.
The deadly chemical in question.
"I was first called to see the patient, a young lady, physically sound, who had been taking Orangeine powders for a number of weeks for insomnia. The rest of the family noticed that she was very blue, and for this reason I was called. When I saw the patient shoe complained of a sense of faintness and inability to keep warm. At this time she had taken a box of six Orangeine powders within about eight hours. She was warned of the danger of continuing the indiscriminate use of the remedy, but insisted that many of her friends had used it and claimed that it was harmless. The family promised to see that she did not obtain any more of the remedy. Three days later, however, I was called to the house and found the patient dead. The family said that she had gone to her room the evening before in her usual health. The next morning, the patient not appearing, they investigated and found her dead. The case was reported to the coroner, and the coroner's verdict was "Death was from the effect of an overdose of Orangeine powders administered by her own hand, whether accidentally or otherwise, unknown to the jury.'"
Full story here.
Comments
In other words, it was the type of Tylenol that killed you.
Posted by Brian on 09/03/17 at 08:06 AM
It took me a minute to equate the phrase "the talented favorite" with her being an actress (Ms. Alberta Gallatin's endorsement). With her dressed like that, my natural assumption was she's the most-requested vendor of services at a house of ill repute. If I didn't vaguely recall seeing her name in connection with a silent movie, I'd have continued to wonder exactly how much of a reputation she had that a company would want to be praised by a fallen woman.
Posted by Phideaux on 09/03/17 at 10:19 AM
Well, it cured the headache -- and everything else, for that matter. They just needed to drop the bit about it "reviving, cheering, and brightening."
Posted by Virtual on 09/03/17 at 11:43 AM
Being the curious sort, I searched for "Orangeine". I found this web page: http://www.museumofquackery.com/ephemera/dec02-01.htm The following excerpt is taken from that page...Orangeine prints its formula. It is therefore, its proprietors claim, not a secret remedy. But to all intents and purposes it is secret, because to the uninformed public the vitally important word "acetanilid" in the formula means little or nothing. Worse than its secrecy is its policy of careful and dangerous deception. Orangeine, like practically all the headache powders, is simply a mixture of acetanilid with less potent drugs... The wickedness of the fraud lies in this: That whereas the nostrum, by virtue of its acetanilid content, thins the blood, depresses the heart, and finally undermines the whole system, it clams to strengthen the heart and to produce better blood, Thus far in the patent medicine field I have not encountered so direct and specific an inversion of the true facts...
The best explanation of patent medicines I have found so far.
The best explanation of patent medicines I have found so far.
Posted by Steve E. on 09/03/17 at 01:12 PM
Phideaux, according to IMDB, she was in a handful of movies from 1913 to 1915, died at age 87 (presumably she didn't actually use Orangeine), and the daughter of Albert Gallatin Jenkins, Confederate general, killed at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain, Virginia, May 1864. I wonder if there any statues of him.
Posted by ges on 09/03/17 at 10:28 PM
Phideaux, according to IMDB, she was in a handful of movies from 1913 to 1915, died at age 87 (presumably she didn't actually use Orangeine),
Being the curious sort, I searched for "Orangeine". I found this web page: http://onedaytop.com/pineapple-juice-helps-get-rid-cough/, The following excerpt is taken from that page...Orangeine prints its formula. It is therefore, its proprietors claim, not a secret remedy. But to all intents and purposes it is secret, because to the uninformed public the vitally important word "acetanilid" in the formula means little or nothing. Worse than its secrecy is its policy of careful and dangerous If I didn't vaguely recall seeing her name in connection with a silent movie, I'd have continued to wonder exactly how much of a reputation she had that a company would want to be praised by a fallen woman.
Being the curious sort, I searched for "Orangeine". I found this web page: http://onedaytop.com/pineapple-juice-helps-get-rid-cough/, The following excerpt is taken from that page...Orangeine prints its formula. It is therefore, its proprietors claim, not a secret remedy. But to all intents and purposes it is secret, because to the uninformed public the vitally important word "acetanilid" in the formula means little or nothing. Worse than its secrecy is its policy of careful and dangerous If I didn't vaguely recall seeing her name in connection with a silent movie, I'd have continued to wonder exactly how much of a reputation she had that a company would want to be praised by a fallen woman.
Posted by Linda PetersS on 09/05/17 at 05:48 PM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
Category: Death | Advertising | Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil | Nineteenth Century