Ads You’ll Never See Again: 19th Century Snake Oil

Prior to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, advertisers could make any claim they wanted about their products. And boy, did they ever.

Prior to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, entrepreneurs could make any claim they wanted for their special medicines, herb tonics, electric belts, and hair restorers. Not only did these remedies usually not work, they sometimes caused more harm than good.

Many of these elixirs, remedies, and “vegetable restoratives” were heavily laced with alcohol, codeine, or opium. While the ads for patent medicines made all sort of promises, none was more fantastic than the promise of “satisfaction guaranteed.”

The makers of patent medicine might have actually believed in their product’s ability to cure, but they definitely believed in the power of advertising. Periodicals of the 19th century were filled with ads for patent medicines. The Post and of the 19th century seems to have avoided some of the more outrageous patent-medicine ads. Even so, we’ve found a few interesting examples.

Craddock & Co. advertisement

The Saturday Evening Post

February 15, 1873

Medical marijuana: A doctor cures his only child of tuberculosis with cannabis.

Botanic Medicine Co. advertisement

The Saturday Evening Post

July 6, 1878

How many people jumped at the chance to lose “from two to five pounds per week”?

Dr. M.W. Case Consumption Cure advertisement

The Saturday Evening Post

October 4, 1879

Dr. Case warned that catarrh (a buildup of phlegm or mucus) could lead to tuberculosis (then the leading cause of death in America) but could be remedied by breathing fumes of wood tar.

Lanman & Kemp Florida Water advertisement

The Country Gentleman

September 11, 1879

Florida Water was a cologne using orange scent. The fountain in the ad refers to the Fountain of Youth, which Ponce de Leon presumably found in Florida. Florida Water is still being sold (lanman-and-kemp.com) but without claims of health benefits.

Magneto-Galvanic Batteries advertisement

The Saturday Evening Post

January 29, 1881

This illustration appeared above a full-page ad for A.M. Richardson’s Wonderful Magneto-Galvanic Battery, which was claimed to revitalize and strengthen organs—without actually specifying which ones. The company recommended it for 56 different ailments, including meningitis, diabetes, heartburn, and “hysteria or fits.”

Voltaic Belt Company advertisement

The Saturday Evening Post

January 30, 1883

“Speedy relief and complete restoration of Health, Vigor and Manhood guaranteed.” How could anyone not be satisfied with a promise like that?

Dispensary Medical Associationadvertisement

The Saturday Evening PostJanuary 13, 2016

It’s only after you’ve read most of the ad for “Golden Medical Discovery” that you realize the grisly cartoon has nothing to do with the product.