Inventory

Camphor

This lotion developed from the camphor tree was used to ease skin irritation and eliminate itching.

Chalk

Chewing chalk offered quick relief for those afflicted with heartburn. This is due to the antacid property of chalk (calcium carbonate) that we know about now.

Cinchona Bark

Taken from trees native to the Andean region of South America, this bark was ground into powder and mixed with wine to counter its bitter taste. The quinine in the bark was the only known remedy for malaria, a disastrous disease that plagued the New World upon the arrival of European seafarers.

Daffy’s Elixir Salutis

Called the ‘health-bringing drink,’ this English concoction was advertised to treat “gout, rheumatism, stones in the kidneys or bladder, exulceration (ulceration) in the kidneys, colic and “griping of the guts”, phthisic (lung congestion), dropsy, scurvy, surfeits (overindulgence), pestilence (plague), fits of the mother and “vapours of the spleen”, green sickness (chlorosis), convulsions and agues.”

Dr. Bateman’s Pectoral Drops

Containing opium and 32% ethanol, Dr. Bateman’s Pectoral Drops were used for chills, diarrhea, cramps, colic, and to induce sleep. Infants and adults alike benefitted from the rather calming effect of this medication. 

Electuarium Gingivale

A jelly-like substance taken for scurvy. Eat your citrus fruits, kids!

Gargarism

In the days when brushing your teeth, well… didn’t exist, taking lemon juice for oral hygiene kept your teeth from falling out (for as long as lemon juice could sustain such a task).

John Hooper’s Female Pills

A patented medicine developed in England in 1743, these pills were promoted for anti-hysteria. They also remedied stomachaches and period problems such as menstrual cramps, depression, and poor complexion.

Leeches

One reach of the hand into the leech jar and your prescription is ready. Bloodletting was a traditional depletion treatment to restore the body from inflammation, fever, abscess, and more. The lancet was advanced from a curved blade, to a fleam blade, to featuring a hinge and spring mechanism to control the depth of the lance in the vein, but leeches are the most natural way of bloodletting.

Mercury

The best cure for skin and venereal disease. This was used to treat syphilis later on, when the disease had a distinct diagnosis.

Opium

A remedy proven to work through years and years of history. Opiates served as sedatives to relieve the pain from headaches and most any other ache one might have.

Potassium Nitrate

By calming the nerves around the teeth, this compound found in gunpowder was used to ease toothaches.

Purgatives

An age-old depletion practice to rid the body of ailments. Many different substances and compounds were used as purgatives. If it went down the throat, then came back up, it worked!

Red Roots and Heart Shaped Leaves

Legend has it that if one has problems with the heart, then one must be treated with leaves in the shape of a heart. Better yet, the plant with red roots is destined to heal the red arteries that flow from the heart. 

Seeds of Rose Mallow

These little seeds take the form of a kidney, so naturally, they must be used as an ailment for disease of the kidney.

Turlington’s Balsam of Life

A mixture of essential oils and ammonia, a panacea for everything from cough to stomach complaints to kidney stones to paralysis.

Tuscarora Rice

America’s first patented medicine developed by Sybilla Masters, an inventive and daring woman whose legacy lives on in the world of engineering. Her patented corn meal, specially made by pounding Indian corn with hammers instead of grinding wheels, was used as a consumption cure. 

Venetian Treacle

The more ingredients, the better. Originating from a recipe perfected by Galen, this Italian remedy contains over 60 ingredients, including flesh of viper. For that reason, this remedy is expensive and rare.

Vinegar of Roses

Made from infusing dried rose petals into distilled vinegar, this compound cures headaches when applied to temples or forehead. Based off an ancient practice.

Widow Read’s Ointment

A salve for lice and itching concocted by none other than Benjamin Franklin’s mother-in-law, made famous by the ads Old Ben ran for it in the Pennsylvania Gazette. 

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