OLD ENGLISH PATENT MEDICINES 



IN AMERICA 



By George B. Grijfe^ihagen and James Harvey Young 



BatemiDi's Pectoral Drops, Godfrey's Cordial, Tur- 

 Ihigton's Balsam of Life, Hooper's Female Bills, 

 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 "rem- 

 edies" appealed as a solution to problems of medical 

 and pharmaceutical aid. Their popularity brought 

 forth a host of American itnitations and made an im- 

 pression 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 Communica- 

 tions 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 ivhile he held a felloivship from the Fund 

 for the Advancement of Education, in 1954~55, and 

 grants-in-aid from the Social Science Kesearch Council 

 and Emory University, in 19 5 6 -57 . 



IN 1824 THERE ISSLED from the press in Philadelphia 

 a 12-page pamphlet bearing the title, Formulae Jur 

 the preparation of eight patent medicines, adopted by the 

 Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. The College ^\•as the 

 first professional pharmaceutical organization es- 

 tablished 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 the Philadelphians concerned 

 themselves half a century after American independ- 

 ence, were of English origin. 



Hooper's Female Pills, Anderson's Scots Pills, 

 Bateman's Pectoral Drops, Godfrey's Cordial, Dalby's 

 Carminative, Turlington's Balsam of Life, Steer's 

 Opodeldoc, British Oil^in this order do the names 

 appear in the Philadelphia pamphlet — all were 

 products of British therapeutic ingenuity. Across 

 the Atlantic Ocean and on American soil these eight 

 and other old English patent medicines, as of the 

 year when the 12-page pamphlet was printed, had 

 both a past and a future. 



Origin of English Patent Medicines 



When the Philadelphia pharmacists began their 

 study, the eight English patent medicines were from 



156 



BULLETIN 218: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



