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Title

An Abstract of the Patent Granted by His Majesty King George…

Description

Patent medicines originated in England in the mid 17th century and were marketed with extravagant claims, offering cures for a host of maladies. Recommendations for dosage were vague, and ingredients (often including opium) were usually not specified. In 1726 Benjamin Okell was granted the royal patent for Dr. Bateman’s Pectoral Drops, a tincture of gambir (an astringent extract from an Asian plant) and opium. Advertisements published in the London Mercury as early as 1721 directed prospective customers to the warehouse and printing shop at Bow's Churchyard, where they could purchase the drops for one shilling. Our copy of the 1731 reprint by Peter Zenger is likely the first piece of medical printing in New York. Zenger, who would later become famous for printing seditious texts, was instrumental in establishing freedom of the press in America. The Academy has the only known copy. Bound with our copy of the abstract is a copy of A Short treatise of the virtues of Dr. Bateman's Pectoral Drops, also issued by Okell and his printing house partners. Here, Batemans efficacy as a treatment for numerous ailments are described in sections dedicated to each. The last section of the treatise offers testimonials from satisfied customers.

Subjects (LC)

Advertising—Medicine, Early works to 1800, Fever, Medicine, Patent medicines, Rheumatism

Title: Au Régiment Spécifique Victorieux: La corvée de quartier
Description: Trade card advertising Victorieux featuring an image of five men in white uniforms cleaning the street. They are sweeping and shoveling horse refuse and carting it away in a wheelbarrow. Soldiers (including one playing a trumpet), a horse, and buildings are visible in the background. The back mentions the French army's use of the Victorieux.
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Brooms And Brushes, Carts And Carriages, Hats, Housing, Men, Men's Hats, Musical Instruments, Refuse And Refuse Disposal, Shovels, Street Cleaning, Streets, Trees, Trumpet
ID: WH372
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Ague Cure Is Warranted to Cure All Malarial Disorders
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Ague Cure featuring a landscape image of a tropical place containing trees and foliage, a log cabin, two people and a heron-looking bird on the shore, and a person in a row boat. In the bottom right is a magnified view of an alligator or crocodile seemingly conversing with two frogs, one of which is holding a bottle and the other one of which is leaning on a box with the writing Ayer's Ague Cure on it. The back has an image of a bottle labeled Ayer's Ague Cure that is upright on a lilly pad with a frog standing on its back legs while touching the bottle with its front legs. The text lists the ailments Ayer's Ague Cure treats.
Conditions Cured (LC): Biliary Tract—Diseases, Fever, Malaria, Typhoid Fever
Subjects (LC): Acquatic Reptiles, Advertising—Medicine, Alligators, Amphibians, Animals—Caricatures And Cartoons, Aquatic Animals, Birds, Boats And Boating, Bog Animals, Bottles, Crocodiles, Frogs, Herons, Jungles, Log Cabins, Nature, Swamps, Trees
ID: WH124
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Cathartic Pills, a safe, pleasant and reliable Family Medicine
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Cathartic Pills featuring seven cherubic, naked babies handling oversized pill boxes and such with the words Ayer's Pills on them. Some babies are wrapping the items, some are pasting labels onto them, and some are filling them with pills. The back has an image of a bottle with name of the manufacturer on it: J.C. Ayer and lists what ailments Ayer's Cathartic Pills cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Biliary Tract—Diseases, Constipation, Dizziness, Headache, Indigestion, Jaundice
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Babies
ID: WH121
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Cathartic Pills, a safe, pleasant and reliable Family Medicine
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Cathartic Pills featuring seven cherubic, naked babies handling oversized pill boxes and such with the words Ayer's Pills on them. Some babies are wrapping the items, some are pasting labels onto them, and some are filling them with pills. The back has an image of a bottle with name of the manufacturer on it: J.C. Ayer and lists what ailments Ayer's Cathartic Pills cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Biliary Tract—Diseases, Constipation, Dizziness, Headache, Indigestion, Jaundice
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Babies
ID: WH122
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Cathartic Pills: the Country Doctor
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Cathartic Pills featuring an African-American man sitting with a little girl on his knee and a little boy sitting on the ground by his feet. The man is in formal attire, including a hat and eyeglasses, and is holding a pill box with the word Ayer's on it in his left hand and a pill in his right hand. The little girl is in a red-and-white, polka-dot dress and is holding a leaflet titled Ayer's Pills. The boy is looking up at them and holds something in his right hand. At the man's feet and the boy's knees is an open medicine case filled with Ayer's products. The back has an image of a bottle with name of the manufacturer on it: J.C. Ayer and lists what ailments Ayer's Cathartic Pills cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Biliary Tract—Diseases, Constipation, Diarrhea, Dizziness, Dysentery, Edema, Gout, Headache, Heartburn, Hemorrhoids, Indigestion, Jaundice, Nausea, Neuralgia, Rheumatism
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, African American Children, African American Men, African Americans, Children, Children's Clothing, Clothing And Dress, Eyeglasses, Families, Men's Clothing, Old Age
ID: WH120
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Cherry Pectoral Cures Colds, Coughs & all Diseases of the Throat and Lungs
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Cherry Pectoral featuring an oversized bottle labeled Ayer's with two children at its side. The boy, on the left, is sitting and touching the bottle with his right hand and holding a spoon in his left. He is wearing a white tunic and red-and-white-striped socks. The girl, on the right, is standing, ostensibly trying to reach the top of the open bottle with her right hand, which holds a spoon. She is wearing a white, frilled dress, white stockings, a white bonnet tied with a blue ribbon, and blue Mary Janes. There is an enlarged branch with cherries on it in the top, left corner, and another, smaller sprig in the bottom, center. The back has images of two hands, one pouring a bottle, and one holding a spoon to catch the liquid. Listed on the back are the ailments Ayer's Cherry Pectoral cures.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthma, Catarrh, Cold (Disease), Cough, Croup, Influenza, Laryngitis, Throat—Diseases, Tuberculosis, Whooping Cough
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Bottles, Cherry, Children, Children's Clothing, Clothing And Dress, Nature, Spoons
ID: WH119
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Cherry Pectoral Cures Colds, Coughs & all Diseases of the Throat and Lungs
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Cherry Pectoral featuring an oversized bottle labeled Ayer's with two children at its side. The boy, on the left,is sitting and touching the bottle with his right hand and holding a spoon in his left. He is wearing a white tunic and red-and-white-striped socks. The girl, on the right, is standing, ostensibly trying to reach the top of the open bottle with her right hand, which holds a spoon. She is wearing a white, frilled dress, white stockings, a white bonnet tied with a blue ribbon, and blue Mary Janes. There is an enlarged branch with cherries on it in the top, left corner, and another, smaller sprig in the bottom, center. The back has images of two hands, one pouring a bottle, and one holding a spoon to catch the liquid. Listed on the back are the ailments Ayer's Cherry Pectoral cures.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthma, Catarrh, Cold (Disease), Cough, Croup, Influenza, Laryngitis, Throat—Diseases, Tuberculosis, Whooping Cough
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Bottles, Cherry, Children, Children's Clothing, Clothing And Dress, Nature, Spoons
ID: WH118
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Cherry Pectoral Cures Coughs Colds &c: Penn's Treaty
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Cherry Pectoral featuring an image of a meeting between seven colonists (William Penn and others) and seven Native Americans. The Native Americans sit and stand to the left, and the colonists on the right present two scrolls that read "Ayer's Cherry Pectoral and Cures Colds, Coughs, &c." William Penn is holding a medicine bottle. The image is loosely based on Benjamin West's oil painting "The Treaty of Penn with the Indians." The back has an image of hands pouring medicine into a spoon in the upper left and text listing the curative properties of Ayer's Cherry Pectoral.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthma, Catarrh, Cold (Disease), Cough, Croup, Influenza, Laryngitis, Throat—Diseases, Tuberculosis, Whooping Cough
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Ethnic Costume, Hats, Indians Of North America, Indigenous Peoples, Men, Treaties
ID: WH117
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Ayer's Sarsaparilla: the Discovery of America
Description: Trade card advertising Ayer's Sarsaparilla featuring five men aboard a sailboat passing a land mass on which there is a large sign that reads "Ayer's Sarsaparilla." Text on the bottom of the card reads "The Discovery of America." The men are in various stages of interacting with one another. From left to right, the first man is looking out at the sea; the second man is holding a book and looks like he is about to speak; the third man is kneeling on one knee and holding out a golden cross; the fourth man is speaking to the fifth man and gesturing toward the land mass; while the fifth man is kneeling with one knee on a pile of rope, his hands on the edge of the boat, and is listening to the fourth. The back shows an image of a bottle of Ayer's Sarsaparilla with a wreath around its neck and text explaining its curative properties.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Scrofula
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, America, America—Discovery And Exploration, Boats And Boating, Clothing And Dress, Crosses—Cult, Hats, Holy Cross, Islands, Land Settlement, Men, Rope, Sailboats, Sailing Ships, Sea Life, Swords
ID: WH123
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Brown's Iron Bitters the Best Tonic
Description: Trade card advertising Brown's Iron Bitters featuring a woman, described as Mrs Langtry, The Jersey Lily, sitting by a wooden wheel holding a wooden bucket. She is surrounded by a bed of hay. She is wearing a pink, flowered dress with a white apron. She stares to the left. The back details how the Iron Bitters works to cure ailments.
Conditions Cured (LC): Depression, Fever, Indigestion, Malaria, Neuralgia
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Clothing And Dress, Hay, Nature, Pails, Plants, Portraits, Trees, Women
ID: WH237
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Brown's Iron Bitters the Best Tonic Cures Malaria, Dyspepsia & Female Infirmities
Description: Trade card advertising Brown's Iron Bitters featuring a framed portrait of a woman's head. The glass of the frame is broken, revealing the woman's nose and mouth. She has brown hair that is in an updo and is wearing a brown dress and gold, hooped earrings. The back describes the disease malaria and how the Iron Bitters can help cure it.
Conditions Cured (LC): Indigestion, Malaria
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Bows, Earrings, Glass, Gold Jewelry, Hair Ornaments, Picture Frames And Framing, Portrait Frames, Portraits, Ribbons, Women
ID: WH238
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Burdock Blood Bitters
Description: Trade card advertising Burdock Blood Bitters featuring a young boy sitting on a pedestal, smiling largely. He is holding a bottle of Burdock Blood Bitters, and is dressed in an exuberant outfit with a white, fanned collar, a blue tunic with a yellow-and-red-striped sash, and pink socks with black boots. The back cautions against doing various activities while suffering from various ailments that Burdock Blood Bitters helps cure.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Biliary Tract—Diseases, Constipation, Indigestion
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Bottles, Children, Children's Clothing, Clothing And Dress, Portraits
ID: WH129
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Buy it, Try it, and be Happy! Morse's Dyspepsia Cure, Holliston, Mass.
Description: Trade card advertising Morse's Dyspepsia Cure featuring an image of a lighthouse and a sailing ship in choppy waters. Text at bottom reads "Eddy Stone Light House." The back lists ailments that Morse's Dyspepsia Cure helps.
Conditions Cured (LC): Biliary Tract—Diseases, Constipation, Headache, Heartburn, Indigestion, Palpitation
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Boats And Boating, Lighthouses, Sailboats, Sailing Ships, Water Waves
ID: WH177
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Cas-car-ria is made by a distinguished chemist [from verso]
Description: Trade card advertising Cas-car-ria featuring a young girl and a dog chasing devil-esque creatures, labeled as various ailments, into a body of water. The girl is wearing a bright pink dress and holds a switch in her hand. The dog is large and brown and white. The back quotes a piece by Lord Roscommon.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Rheumatism
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Children, Cliffs, Demonology, Devil, Dogs, Folklore, Grasslands, Mythology, Staffs (Sticks, Canes, Etc.), Trees, Water
ID: WH244
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Cas-car-ria is worth its weight in gold [from verso]
Description: Trade card advertising Cas-car-ria featuring a young girl and a dog chasing devil-esque creatures, labeled as various ailments, into a body of water. The girl is wearing a bright pink dress and holds a switch in her hand. The dog is large and brown and white. The back quotes a piece by Izaak Walton.
Conditions Cured (LC): Asthenia, Rheumatism
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Children, Cliffs, Demonology, Devil, Dogs, Folklore, Grasslands, Mythology, Staffs (Sticks, Canes, Etc.), Trees, Water
ID: WH245
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dr. Mettaur's Headache Pills
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. Mettaur's Headache Pills featuring a young girl who seems to be praying on a bed. She is barefoot and wearing a nightgown. There is a pillow by her knees. The back has testimony from satisfied customers.
Conditions Cured (LC): Headache
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Children, Children—Prayers And Devotions, Pillows, Portraits
ID: WH303
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dr. Morse's Compound Syrup of Yellow Dock Root Regulating the Liver and Digestive Organs and Purifying the Blood
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. Morse's Compound Syrup of Yellow Dock Root featuring a tree populated by various animals. At its base is a bull. There are two quadruped animals in its branches. An owl perches on the frame of the advertisement text. In the background is a body of water with birds flying over it.
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Birds, Bulls, Nature, Owls, Trees, Water
ID: WH387F
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dr. Morse's Compound Syrup of Yellow Dock Root the Blood Purifier Cures Constipation and Biliousness: The Great Kidney Remedy
Description: Trade card advertising Dr. Morse's Compound Syrup of Yellow Dock Root featuring a young boy peering into a jeweled, egg-shaped, over-sized box. His dress resembles a formal military officer's.
Conditions Cured (LC): Biliary Tract—Diseases, Constipation
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Children, Children's Clothing, Costume, Dress And Clothing
ID: WH173
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

Title: Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills
Description: Trade card advertising Morse's Indian Root Pills featuring a toddler crawling on the floor towards a collie. Behind the two is a cat peeking through a door at them from another room. The back has text explaining the benefits of Morse's Indian Root Pills.
Subjects (LC): Advertising—Medicine, Animals, Babies, Cats, Dogs, Domestic Space, Infants
ID: WH308
Collection: William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards

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