A while back when I mentioned Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable
Compound in a column, I had no idea the responses it would bring.
I had never heard of the lady, or her compound, but many readers
came to my aid and provided background. Seems it was a patent
medicine, a tonic for "women's complaints" containing a good
portion of alcohol rather like Lucy Ricardo's Vitametavegamin.
Romance author Rita Baron-Faust relates that the compound was 20%
alcohol. "In other words," she writes, "whatever ailed you, it
certainly would make you feel better. No wonder millions of women
used the stuff." She also provided background on Lydia from a
book she highly recommends, THE GREAT
AMERICAN MEDICINE SHOW by
David Armstrong.
Born a Quaker, Lydia had a deep interest in medicine and
remedies. During the financial panic of 1873, she and her
husband, Charles, decided to bottle and sell her compound, which
was already popular with neighbors. As word spread, travelers had
taken to stopping by the house in Lynn, MA, in order to purchase
a bottle or two. Lydia's son, Dan, took over the advertising,
distributing pamphlets in New York, while the rest of the family
actually made and bottled the stuff in their kitchen. A picture
of Lydia's face became their trademark and the product's label
logo and newspaper ads soon drove up sales of the compound whose
alcoholic content, it was insisted, was "used only as a solvent
and preservative."
Lydia's desire to help the ailing proved to be her most
valuable selling tool. She invited readers to write to her about
their complaints, and until her death in 1883, she personally
answered every letter she received. She also wrote a "Guide for
Women," a 62-page booklet that was eventually translated into
five languages. As late as 1925, sales of the compound totalled
$3 million. In 1968, the family sold their rights to the product,
which continued to be produced at a plant in Puerto Rico until
the late 1980s. Rita thinks it possible that the compound is
still being sold, and if anyone finds this is so, do let me
know.
Other responses included one from Kristin Smagula of the
Historical Gazette, who wrote, "the answer lies in a book
entitled, Female Complaints-LYDIA PINKHAM: THE BUSINESS OF
WOMEN'S MEDICINE, by Sarah Stage (W. Norton, 1979). Similar
versions were sold in the Sears Robuck catalog." Mildred Riley,
author of Pinnacle's MIDNIGHT MOON, wrote, "It sold very well. I
remember my mother took it at one time. In those days there was
no standard for listing ingredients in a so-called medication,
and it was not until much later that the liquid compound was
found to contain a sizable amount of alcohol, as I remember my
research."
Lastly, my great good friend Eleanor Myatt shared the
following about the compound. "It was quite famous at the time,
and my grandfather (1850-1942) used to carry it along with some
other quaint remedies in his very old fashioned drugstore in our
small town in upstate New York... I think it was a brown liquid,
but I am not certain, as I never saw any poured out; I certainly
never drank any nor did I want to!... I doubt if it is made
anymore and doubt that it would come up to FDA standards if it
were still manufactured."
Coincidentally, my daughter asked only recently, during our
flu epidemic, if people used to take Coca Cola syrup for colds at
one time. I told her that it was given for nausea, having seen or
taken it myself as late as the 1960s. While innocent remedies
like coke syrup have become victims of strict product control and
the FDA, I'm willing to sacrifice it if it means no more cod
liver oil, absolutely vile cough medicines and old fashioned
enemas.
Coincidentally, my daughter asked only recently, during our
flu epidemic, if people used to take Coca Cola syrup for colds at
one time. I told her that it was given for nausea, having seen or
taken it myself as late as the 1960s. While innocent remedies
like coke syrup have become victims of strict product control and
the FDA, I'm willing to sacrifice it if it means no more cod
liver oil, absolutely vile cough medicines and old fashioned
enemas.
PINKHAM UPDATE (6/04/03): A reader informed Kristine that Lydia
Pinkham's Herbal Liquid Supplement is still on the market. It is
distributed by NUMARK LABORATORIES, P.O. Box 6321, Edison, NY
08818. 1-800-331-0221. Some online pharmecies also carry it.
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