History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills — John Shaqi
History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse's Indian Root PillsShaw, Robert B.
History
History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills
Shaw, Robert B.
Patent medicines -- United States; W.H. Comstock Co.
Besides the almanacs, almost every known form of advertising in the
preradio era was employed. Announcements were inserted in
newspapers--apparently mostly rural newspapers--all over the country;
the two remedies pushed most intensively were the Indian Root Pills and
Judson's Mountain Herb Worm Tea. The latter always bore a true likeness
of Tezuco, the Aztec chief who had originally conferred the secret of
the medicine upon Dr. Cunard. Besides the Mountain Herb Worm Tea, there
were also Mountain Herb Pills; it is not clear how the pills differed
from the tea, but they were recommended primarily as a remedy for
Diarrhoea Dropsy Debility Fever and Ague Female Complaints Headaches
Indigestion Influenza Inflammation Inward Weakness Liver Complaints
Lowness of Spirits Piles Stone and Gravel Secondary Symptoms
with particular stress upon their value as a "great female medicine."
Besides the major advertisement of the pills, consisting of an
eight-inch column to be printed in each issue of the paper, smaller
announcements were provided, to be inserted according to a specified
monthly schedule among the editorial matter on the inside pages. Sample
monthly announcements from the Judson Mountain Herb Pills contract used
in 1860 were:
JANUARY
THE GREAT FEMALE MEDICINE
The functional irregularities peculiar to the weaker sex, are
invariably corrected without pain or inconvenience by the use of
Judson's Mountain Herb Pills. They are the safest and surest
medicine for all the diseases incidental to females of all ages,
and more especially so in this climate.
Ladies who wish to enjoy health should always have these Pills. No
one who ever uses them once will ever allow herself to be without
them. They remove all obstructions, purify the blood and give to
the skin that beautiful, clear and healthful look so greatly
admired in a beautiful and healthy woman. At certain periods these
Pills are an indispensable companion. From one to four should be
taken each day, until relief is obtained. A few doses occasionally,
will keep the system healthy, and the blood so pure, that diseases
cannot enter the body.
MARCH
DISEASES OF THE CHEST AND LUNGS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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