Read a discussion
of the letter testimonials, and their
authenticity, of the Pinkham company (in a
discussion of a Pursettes ad with a letter
testimonial)
Historical remedies
for menstrual period pain and problems. See
more remedies here.
A discussion of
the letter testimonials, and their
authenticity, of the Pinkham company (in a
discussion of a Pursettes ad with a letter
testimonial)
See two letters to MUM about the ingredients of her
Compound, and one about the lyrics of
an English
pop song, Lily
the Pink, about her.
Other amazing women:
Nelli Bly, Dr.
Marie Stopes, Dr.
Grace Feder Thompson
|
The Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co.,
maker of medicine for headaches,
stomach illness, insomnia, depression,
cancer, tumors, women's diseases,
flatulence, menstruation, fertility, etc.:
Typed letter to a
Canadian doctor
The grandson of a Canadian
doctor generously donated this
letter to the museum, with its
envelope, that the Pinkham
Medicine Co., famous for its
Vegetable Compound patent
medicine, mailed to his
grandfather almost 90 years ago.
Mrs. Pinkham's alcoholic
concoction allegedly cured "all
those painful Complaints and
Weaknesses so common to our best
female population," including
tumors, depression, "ovarian
troubles," "Spinal Weakness,"
cancer, menopause difficulties,
etc., and kidney complaints of
both sexes. But read two
objections to my assertion
that it was the alcohol that
counted most.
Under the beautiful head (not
Mrs. Pinkham's, the letter's) we
find an admonishment and
instructions for distributing one
of the many booklets the company
published to push its products and
aid the populace (see one here).
Read a short introduction
to the famous woman.
|
|
|
|
|
Both the letter and
envelope were originally black on
white, but I want to show how
aging caused the nice color in the
envelope, the same color as the
letter. Someone ripped off the
stamp - not me!
|
NEXT: SEE Ad from 1881 in a
Salt Lake City newspaper - See
more Mrs. Pinkham, below (and
see
her first
page)
|
The
Schlesinger Library, of the
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced
Study, part of Harvard
University, has probably
the largest
collection of material
about the Pinkham enterprise, the
records of the Lydia E. Pinkham
Medicine Company.
Part of the donation of
SarahAnne Hazelwood to this
museum, much of it patent medicine
and old medical equipment, was a
very interesting biography and
study of Mrs. Pinkham's business,
Female
Complaints: Lydia Pinkham and
the Business of Women's Medicine,
by Sarah Stage.
See two letters to MUM about the
ingredients
of her Compound, and one
about the lyrics of an English pop
song,
Lily the Pink, about her.
Other amazing
women: Nelli Bly, Dr.
Marie Stopes,
Dr. Grace Feder Thompson
See also the patent medicine
Cardui,
Dr. Grace Feder Thompson's
letter
appealing for patients, Dr. Pierce's
medicines, and Orange
Blossom medicine.
©
1998, 2005 Harry Finley. It is
illegal to reproduce or
distribute work on this Web site
in any manner or medium without
written permission of the
author. Please report suspected
violations to hfinley@mum.org
|
|