Contributions from
The Museum of History and Technology:
Paper 10
Old English Patent Medicines in America
George B. Griffenhagenand
James Harvey Young
| ORIGINS OF ENGLISH PATENT MEDICINES | 156 |
| ENGLISH PATENT MEDICINES COME TO AMERICA | 162 |
| COMPLEX FORMULAS AND DISTINCTIVE PACKAGES | 166 |
| SOURCE OF SUPPLY SEVERED | 168 |
| PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF PHARMACY FORMULARY | 174 |
| ENGLISH PATENT MEDICINES GO WEST | 176 |
| THE PATENT MEDICINES IN THE 20TH CENTURY | 179 |
OLD ENGLISH PATENT MEDICINES
IN AMERICA
By George B. Griffenhagen and James Harvey Young
Bateman's Pectoral Drops, Godfrey's Cordial, Turlington's Balsam of Life, Hooper's Female Pills, and a half-dozen other similar nostrums originated in England, mostly during the first half of the 18th century. Advertised with extravagant claims, their use soon spread to the American Colonies.
To the busy settler, with little time and small means, these ready-made and comparatively inexpensive "remedies" appealed as a solution to problems of medical and pharmaceutical aid. Their popularity brought forth a host of American imitations and made an impression not soon forgotten or discarded.
The Authors:George B. Griffenhagen, formerly curator of medical sciences in the Smithsonian Institution's U.S. National Museum, is now Director of Communications for the American Pharmaceutical Association. James Harvey Young is professor of history at Emory University. Some of the material cited in the paper was found by him while he held a fellowship from the Fund for the Advancement of Education, in 1954-55, and grants-in-aid from the Social Science Research Council and Emory University, in 1956-57.
In 1824 there issuedfrom the press in Philadelphia a 12-page pamphlet bearing the title,Formulae for the preparation of eight patent medicines, adopted by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. The College was the first professional pharmaceutical organization established in America, having been founded in 1821, and this small publication was its first venture of any general importance. Viewed from the perspective of the mid-20th century, it may seem strange if not shocking that the maiden effort of such a college should be publicizing formulas for nostrums. Adding to the novelty is the fact that all eight of these patent medicines, with which t