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.
YOUR remedies for menstrual period
pain and problems. See more remedies here.
See modern home remedies here.
 
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The Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., maker of medicine for headaches,
constipation, insomnia, depression, cancer, tumors, women's diseases,
flatulence, menstruation, fertility, etc., U.S.A.:
Come into the Kitchen, booklet,
about 1930
Below: P. 16. As you've read before, connecting
doctors and nurses to Pinkham's products legitimizes
them in the readers' mind. This happened
everywhere in menstrual product advertising and lingered on for decades
in the crosses on boxes of Kotex
and Tampax.
But consider this irony: much patent medicine,
including Mrs. Pinkham's, arose because standard medicine
- doctors and nurses - couldn't make people's complaints disappear.
But doctors' (and nurses') reputations had improved since the 19th century
(much of it due to Johns Hopkins medical school)
when much patent medicine in America originated so their reputations
now helped their old enemy.
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Below: P. 17. Mail-order
doctoring was common in America in the 19th century, which is when
the Pinkham company started. (See the fascinating
case of Dr. Grace Thompson).
Pile (the last remedy) means hemorrhoid.
The word probably comes from a Latin word for ball,
which is what one looks like.
I don't see the chocolate-covered pills
mentioned in the list but maybe all the Compound pills had a chocolate covering.
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© 2008 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce
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