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| Dennis Dalton speaks at May's Lunch & Learn program.. |
Local author, historian and collector Dennis Dalton spoke to a packed house on the history of patent medicine in Ohio and the world. Mr. Dalton was the featured speaker at the May edition of our monthly Lunch & Learn program.
Patent, or proprietary medicines were common in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were unregulated by any local, state or other government and were marketed as miracle cures for every kind of medical complaint from acne to syphilis. These patent medicines were marketed as containing the goodness of herbs, berries and various barks but their primary ingredient was whisky or other consumable alcohols, and often cocaine or morphine. Coco Cola originally was a patent medicine containing cocaine. Many of these "medicines" were home remedies made by housewives in their kitchens and distributed to friends and neighbors. Some enterprising women bottled their concoctions and sold them through local stores.
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| You can buy this modern day version through Amazon.com |
One of the most famous was Lydia Pinkham and her Vegetable Tonic which is still available today, although without the original high dose of alcohol. Lydia's was the cure all for all female complaints. It was commonly said that their was a "baby in every bottle".
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