Atlas Drug Company

Atlas Mosquito Oil

New York, Atlas Drug Co. 1910. Counter display advertisement broadside, n. d. (ca 1910); green card stock, printed in black; illustrated with a drawing of a giant mosquito; light fading to extreme margins; thin, discolored spot to bottom edge; in very good condition. An advertisement for a quack remedy of the early 20th century, the broadside stated that the Atlas Mosquito Oil "relieves bites and stings of insects apply freely. Very good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 002760

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Boston Vbf, Advertisement

Burnett, Joseph

Burnett's Floral Hand Book and Ladies' Calendar

Boston, Joseph Burnett & Co. 1875. First Edition. First edition thus; 4 1/2 x 3; pp. 1-40; beige pictorial wraps, ruled and decorated in black; faint crease to lower corner of front wrap and several minor spots; in very good condition. Joseph Burnett (1820 - 1894) was an educator, inventor, and businessman - credited with innovating the production of pure vanilla extract in the United States. He also developed several patent remedies, including his famous Cocoaine. The little book, published as an advertisement for his products (described on each leaf's verso), presented the "Language of Plants" - listing each one and its meaning, e.g. 'sunflower - pride.'. Very good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 003340

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Advertisement, Flowers, Quackery

Jackson, Mark H.

A Small Collection of Quack Medicine Material

Syracuse, NY, By the author, 1920. A circular, order form, advertising postcards, original envelope, and facsimile letter, n. d. (1920s); various sizes of paper stock; circular cards illustrated with a portrait; all with light age-toning, else minor wear; order form with a chip to lower corner and thin splits to fold lines; envelope with a closed cut through upper margin; overall in very good condition. Mark H. Jackson of Syracuse, NY, had allegedly, created a full-proof, home treatment for rheumatism and gout, and the current collection reflected on his advertising and distribution methods. The circuar, handsomly printed and illustrated with the proprietor's image, offered a "Dear Friend" 50-days treatment for $5.00, or 25-days for $3.25 - to be conveniently ordered through the enclosed form. The circular also asked the recipient to distribute the postal cards (five of them, also illustrated with portraits) to friends and family members afflicted with rheumatism. The last piece, a facsimile letter from one Mrs. J. E. Hurst, expressed her deepest gratitute for his wonderful cure and vowed to spread the good news that there was, indeed, a successful treatment for her ailments. Very good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 003420

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Quackery, Patent Medicine

(Pierce, R. V.)

Pierce's Hand Book, Designed for Farmers, Mechanics, and All People. A Present from the World's Dispensary Medical Association

Buffalo, New York, World's Dispensary Medical Association, 1910. First Edition. Presumed first edition, n. d. (ca 1910); 5 1/2 x 3 1/4; pp. 1-32; green, pictorial wraps, printed in red and black; illustrated with small drawings and a table; mild wear to wraps; bottom margin with several tiny punctures; in very good condition. Ray Vaughn Pierce (1840 - 1914) was a US Representative from New York and a businessman - manufacturer and distributor of various patent medicines (many of which were notorious elixirs containing opium), founder of the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Institute, and operator of the World's Dispenary. The current booklet advertised his various quack cures, as well as the institute, the latter known to have treated patients from all over the United States and Canada, including, allegedly, the Sundance Kid. Very good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 003678

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Quackery

The Sagine Company

Victory and Failure. "Snatched from the Jaws of Death

Columbus, OH, The Sagine Company, 1900. First Edition. First edition presumed, n. d. (ca 1900); off-white, stapled wraps, printed and ruled in black; a small, closed cut to fore-edge; paper around staples a bit weak; in very good condition. Apparenty unrecorded, the little booklet advertised, with an emotional title and dramatic testimonies of bringing people back to life from the brink of death, the various potions, remedies, and antiseptics of the Sagine Company of Ohio, which would become quite well-known for its products in the late 19th- and early 20th- centuries. Very good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 003006

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Quackery, Americana

Various

A Collection of Quack Products' Labels

Various places, Various publishers, 1890. One hundred labels, ca 1890s to 1930s; various sizes - from tiny 1 3/4 x 1 to 5 x 3 1/2; some of them illustrated with photographs, engravings, drawings, and chromolithographs; condition varies from fine - with no defects - to good - several of them with chips, splits, and ink-bleeding due to exposure to moisture. A beautiful collection, the largest we have seen, it encompassed decades and reflected people's fascination with patent medicines and the breadth of quack products in the late 19th- and early 20th centuries. With manufacturers spanning the entire United States - from Natchez through Davenport to Chicago and from Albany to Tacoma and San Francisco, the labels advertised remedies, potions, pomades, and salves and included innocuous mustache wax and rose hair oil, the amusing "Spray-A-Cow," which made satisfied cows, the dubious "Claro-Derm" depilatory (to be aplied and then scraped off with a silver knife), the bombastic "Red Hot Heave-Bouncer" for coughs in horses and the "Gypsy Wonder Salve" and the "Brain Duster", the horrid "Blumer's Requi Salve," containing turpentine and carbolic acid and designed to be applied to unmentionable places, and the dangerous "FixiT," which was supposed to be a non-poisonous restorer of meats, ie it made spoiled meat edible once again. The largest number of labels belonged to products manufactured by Lincoln Chemical Works - established in 1886 in Chicago, remembered for their astoundingly-massive line of quack products, and known for encouraging every-day people to distribute the company's fares in their spare time. Other names included Geo. Waldman in Iowa, also famous for their straight razors, Boyston's Pharmacy in San Francisco, Leavitt & Smith Pharmacists in Hudson, NY, and many others. Very good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 002757

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Labels, Advertisement

Wells, Richardson & Company

Great Things, What They Are, Where They Are

Burlington, VT, Wells, Richardson & Co. 1883. First Edition. First edition, n. d. (1883); 5 3/4 x 4 1/4; pp. 1-32; stapled, pictorial wraps in yellow and brown; illustrated with in-line drawings; light age-toning and creasing and a few minor spots to right margin; small loss of paper to lower corner of back wrap; in about very good condition. An advertisement for Paine's Celery Compound, the booklet was designed to bolster the sales of an already-popular quack remedy - the first ever celery-based product on the market. According to the "Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience," it was developed in the mid-1870s by the Wells, Richardson & Company in Burlington - a partnership between several Civil War veterans. Apart from celery, the recipe also contained hops, alcohol, and coca (cocaine) and purportedly offered permanent cure for all kinds of nervous diseases. Besides history and testimonials of the effectiveness of the compound, the booklet listed, and illustrated described the greatest crusades, the great wonders of America, the greatest ships and bridges, etc. Quite unusual, with OCLC showing only 4 holdings at institutions. Very good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 003103

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Quackery, Remedy

Wills, J. Baxter

A Mystery Solved + a Form Letter

Burlington, Vermont, Wells, Richardson & Co. 1897. First Edition. First edition; 8 x 6 1/4; pp. [3], 6-28, [4]; stapled pictorial wraps; illustrated with numerous drawings, including frontis; paper around staples with small cuts; tiny chip to lower right corner of front wrap; small discoloration to lower right corner of text block; light creasing; overall in good to very good condition. Also included is a typed letter on Wells, Richardson & Co. and a book-advertising leaflet. An interesting take on quack-medicine advertisement, the booklet touted the marvelous qualities of Will's English Pills through the detailed and exotic story of Charles Wills. He had gone to India, had discovered the Cake of Healing, and had used it to make "the best pills in the world." Wills would later sell his invention to Wells, Richardson & Co. who were the manufacturers of Diamond Dies, the latter also advertisied in the book. Good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 003742

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Quackery

(Wilshire, Gaylord)

I-on-a-Co, the Short Road to Health

S. l. (Los Angeles), S. n. (Iona Company), 1926. First Edition. First edition presumed, n. d. (ca 1926); 6 1/4 x 3 1/4; pp. 3-31; beige wraps, illustrated and printed in black; a bit of age-toning to wraps; small nicks to tips of spine and fore-edge; overall in very good condition. The I-ON-A-CO was land developer and publisher Gaylord Wilshire's (1861 - 1927) last business venture. The contraption, an electric belt, was supposed to magnetize the iron in the human body and heal and eradicate all ailments. Wilshire began developing it in 1910 and in 1925, purportedly, he strapped it to himself and cured his own medical conditions. The company and its invention gained extreme popularity between 1925 and 1927, the former opening offices all along the West Coast, but sales declined with Wilshire's death, after medical experts dismissed it as a quack device. The current booklet described the I-ON-A-CO and the way it worked, as well as listed numerous testimonials by happy customers. Very good .

ZH BooksProfessionelle Verkäufer

Buchzahl: 002415

Katalog: Quackery

Sonstige Stichworte: Quackery, Medical Devices, Cure-All