Wellcome Collection
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Tonics and Curatives
Marketing cures, sometime of dubious efficacy.
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Bold poster advertising pills’ efficacy against rheumatic diseases
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Paper bag advertising a proprietary medicine for 'inner health'
A late 19th century American physician with his bag and horse and buggy
An alliterative leaflet for a 1900s cure-all
Advertisement emphasising the exotic origins of the pills’ ingredients
Advert claiming to safely remove superfluous fat
Leaflet claiming to give 'new life and vigor’
Carter's Little Liver Pills, for 'sick headache, torpid liver... '
White card advertisement showing a pained Mr Sparrow
Dr Seth Arnold's Cough Killer 'works like magic' for 25 cents
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A Spanish courtier looks down on lesser mortals
Human organs portrayed as machines to illustrate the function of the laxative
Packaging for drug showing an astronaut in space
French soldiers, free from corns and victorious
A cure-all for a well-dressed society woman
A suggestion of parchment implies an old and effective remedy
Bees and flowers suggest a natural and healthy origin
Promoting brand-name cures to the medical profession
A common type of 'cure-all', advertised as effective against all ills
A lady pauses to check her purchase