Patent Medicines in Historical Newspapers

Introduction

The golden age of patent medicines took place from the mid-to-late-1800s through the early years of the 1900s. Patent medicines were nonprescription, over-the-counter drugs which were neither patented nor regulated during this time period. A perfect storm of questionable mainstream medical practices, a lack of drug regulation and consumer protection laws, and the new popularity of newspaper and magazine advertising created a perfect environment for scammers to take advantage of the public with their purported cure-alls. 

Newspaper advertisement for Cuticura Resolvent, beginning with "Cool your Blood In All Cases of Itching Burning and Scaly Humors with Cuticura Resolvent"

The Daily Morning Journal and Courier, March 07, 1901

The germ theory of disease, the scientific theory that microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, and fungi cause and affect disease, was not widely accepted until the late 19th century. Before germ theory, Humorism was widely accepted, and medical practitioners believed that disease was caused by an imbalance of the body’s “humors”, or fluids. The delicate balance of the body’s humors, according to the thinking of the time, could be restored by bleeding, sweating, and varieties of purging, in what is now known as the Age of Heroic Medicine (around 1780-1850). The death of George Washington from bloodletting is the most famous example of the dangers of heroic medicine. Following the revolutionary research of Robert Koch, Louis Pasteur and others, germ theory became widely observed, and physicians began incorporating fewer “heroic” methods in favor of gentler, more cautious practices which proved more effective. Prior to these important discoveries, the public often turned to the cheaper, less dangerous alternative presented by patent medicines. 

Newspaper advertisement for Beecham's Pills, beginning with "You ought to know how easy it is to gain health and strength."

The Bridgeport Evening Farmer, October 22, 1909

Patent medicines rarely disclosed their real ingredients and made outlandish claims to convince the public to buy. Most medicines listed several ailments in their advertising, claiming to guarantee a cure for diseases ranging from cancer to catarrh to “female complaints”. The term “patent medicine” originates from the term “letters patent”, which were at one time documents handed down from monarchs allowing the use of royal endorsement when advertising medical products. The patent medicines found in the United States very rarely, if ever, had any such endorsement, but the labels and advertising used to sell patent medicines rode the coattails of that historical authority. 

Newspaper advertisement for Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, beginning with "Attention! Sick Women"

Putnam Patriot, November 22, 1918

Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was popular during this golden age, and like most patent medicines, was ineffective. Lydia Pinkham was an inventor from Lynn, MA who invented an herbal-alcoholic remedy for symptoms of menstruation and menopause, advertised using wild claims and incendiary language, and suggested that women write to her, after which she would maintain correspondence with them. Relief for women was a popular term in patent medicine advertising and was often used as a euphemism for purported abortifacients. The language used by advertisers often urged women to take caution not to use the medicine in the early stages of pregnancy, as it would surely result in a miscarriage. Examples of these included Beecham’s Pills and Dr. Cheeseman’s Female Regulating Pills. 

Newspaper advertisement for Dr. Cheeseman's Pills, beginning with "Important to Females!" repeated three times. The advertisement explains that the pills are "the only safe means of renewing interrupted menstruation".

The Ohio Democrat, May 22, 1863

Gullible America will spend this year some seventy-five millions of dollars in the purchase of patent medicines. In consideration of this sum it will swallow huge quantities of alcohol, an appalling amount of opiates and narcotics, a wide assortment of varied drugs ranging from powerful and dangerous heart depressants to insidious liver stimulants; and, far in excess of all other ingredients, undiluted fraud. For fraud, exploited by the skillfulest of advertising bunco men, is the basis of the trade. Should the newspapers, the magazines and the medical journals refuse their pages to this class of advertisements, the patent-medicine business in five years would be as scandalously historic as the South Sea Bubble, and the nation would be the richer not only in lives and money, but in drunkards and drug-fiends saved.

Samuel Hopkins Adams

In 1905, muckraker journalist Samuel Hopkins Adams published a series of articles in Collier’s Weekly entitled, “The Great American Fraud”. In his articles, Adams covered the ineffectiveness and dangers of popular patent medicines, particularly medicines like Peruna which contained alcohol as their primary active ingredient. The series had an important impact on legislative reform regarding consumer protection and drug regulation, as periodicals, which were used to promote patent medicines, were being leveraged to draw attention to their failings. This series, in combination with Upton Sinclair’s influential novel The Jungle, resulted in public mistrust of the food and drug industries, and led Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This was the first significant piece of consumer protection legislation in US history and resulted in the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

Beginning of a newspaper article about Dr. Wiley and his "poison squad", featuring the headline "Champion of Pure Food"

Waterbury Evening Democrat, October 04, 1906

 

How to Search

Open the Library of Congress Chronicling America collection, click on the “Advanced Search Tab, and select “Connecticut” in the “Select State(s)” box. Enter the search terms below in the boxes labeled “with all of the words” or “with the phrase.” A proximity search is also available by using the box labeled “with the words:…within 5 words of each other” – this will ensure your search terms are located close together on the page. Once you’ve entered all search information, click “Search.” Filter results by date to find patent medicine advertisements and consumer protection legislation using dates found in this guide and in the timeline (e.g. 1906 for the Pure Food and Drug Act).

Users may need to search for, or may encounter, biased and offensive language when searching these historical newspapers for information about patent medicines. Historical newspapers reflect attitudes held at the time they were published, and we at CDNP seek to acknowledge that these terms are offensive and potentially harmful while maintaining our commitment to preserving historical newspapers and providing public access to their content.

General:

  • Cure, Cured  
  • Remedy/Remedies  
  • Treatment  
  • Miracle 

Ailments: 

  • Ailments 
  • Humours 
  • Catarrh
  • Dyspepsia/dispepsia (occasional spelling in La Sentinella)  
  • Feminine weakness/female weakness/female diseases 
  • Loss of manhood 
  • Anti-bilious 
  • Rheumatism

Medicines: 

  • Vegetable compound 
  • Elixir 
  • Tonic 
  • Medicine (before 1906) 

Notable People: 

  • Lydia Pinkham 
  • Morris Fishbein, John R. Brinkley 
  • Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch 
  • Harvey Washington Wiley (Dr. Wiley) 
  • Samuel Hopkins Adams (The Great American Fraud) 
  • Upton Sinclair 

Sample Search Results

Bibliography

Barkan, Ilyse D. “Industry Invites Regulation: The Passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 75, no. 1, Jan. 1985, pp. 18–26, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1646146/. 

“Biologics Control Act.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biologics_Control_Act. 

Bren, Linda. “The Road to the Biotech Revolution – Highlights of 100 Years of Biologics Regulation.” FDA Consumer Magazine, vol. 40, no. 1, Feb. 2006, https://www.fda.gov/files/about%20fda/published/The-Road-to-the-Biotech-Revolution–Highlights-of-100-Years-of-Biologics-Regulation.pdf. 

Cohen, Kate. “Forget ‘Abortion.’ Bring Back ‘Relief for Ladies.’” The Washington Post, 3 June 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/03/rename-abortion-as-natural-health-reset/. 

DeHovitz, M.D., Ross E. “The 1901 St Louis Incident: The First Modern Medical Disaster.” Pediatrics Digest, vol. 133, no. 6, June 2014, pp. 964–65, https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/133/6/964/76022/The-1901-St-Louis-Incident-The-First-Modern?redirectedFrom=fulltext?autologincheck=redirected. 

Ernst, Edzard, and Simon Singh. Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial. 2008. 

Estes, J. Worth. “The Pharmacology of Nineteenth-Century Patent Medicines.” Pharmacy in History, vol. 30, no. 1, 1988, pp. 3–18, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41110215. 

“Humoral Theory.” CURIOSity Collections: Harvard Library. 

Lanzarotta, Tess, and Marco A. Ramos. “Mistrust in Medicine: The Rise and Fall of America’s First Vaccine Institute.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 108, no. 6, June 2018, pp. 741–47, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304348. 

Nickell, Joe. “‘Magnetic’ Medicines.” Center for Inquiry, 12 Oct. 2016. 

Pugsley, C. W. Misbranding of Dr. Cheeseman’s Female Regulating; Pills. U. S. v. 10 Packages of Dr. Cheeseman’s Female Regulating Pills. Default Decree of Condemnation, Forfeiture, and Destruction. Bureau of Chemistry, 4 Nov. 1922, https://fdanj.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/fdnj10582. 

“Quack Cures and Self-Remedies: Patent Medicine.” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/exhibitions/patent-medicine/1860-1920. 

“Science and the Regulation of Biological Products.” Food and Drug Administration, https://web.archive.org/web/20140218233236/https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/ProductRegulation/100YearsofBiologicsRegulation/ucm070022.htm. 

Smith, James. “James Smith (of Baltimore0 to Thomas Jefferson, 28 March 1818.” National Archives, 28 Mar. 1818, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-12-02-0472. 

“The History of Drug Advertising.” Weill Cornell Medicine, https://library.weill.cornell.edu/about-us/snake%C2%A0oil%C2%A0-social%C2%A0media-drug-advertising-your-health/history-drug-advertising. 

“The Pure Food and Drug Act.” Visit the Capitol, https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/congress-and-progressive-era/pure-food-and-drug-act. 

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