YOUR remedies for menstrual period pain and
problems. See more remedies here.
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.
Other amazing women: Nelli Bly,
Dr. Marie Stopes, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson
 
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The Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., maker of medicine for headaches,
stomach illness, insomnia, depression, cancer, tumors, women's diseases,
flatulence, menstruation, fertility, etc.:
Lydia Pinkham's Private Text-Book Upon Ailments Peculiar
to Women
(late 19th, early 20th century?): selections
Mrs. Pinkham acted as a mail-order doctor, and published the self-help
book below, in which the only help is almost always Mrs. Pinkham's concoctions,
consisting mostly of high percentage alcohol.
It worked for many cases and made her rich. (Read two
objections to my assertion that alcohol was the main effective ingredient.)
I couldn't resist showing the hysteria
section of the book, treating an affliction so peculiar to the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. And I couldn't cut you off from the conclusion
on the next page, so I added it.
Read more about Mrs. Pinkham.
See the next two pages.
SarahAnne Hazlewood generously donated the book to this museum.
Long download time!
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See the next two pages. See modern home remedies
here.
NEXT: More selections
from Lydia Pinkham's Private Text-Book Upon Ailments
Peculiar to Women -
See more Mrs. Pinkham, below (and see her first
page)
The Schlesinger Library, of the Radcliffe Institute
for Advanced Study, part of Harvard University, has probably the
largest collection of material about the Pinkham
enterprise, the records of the Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company.
Part of the donation of SarahAnne Hazelwood to this museum, much of
it patent medicine and old medical equipment, was a very interesting biography
and study of Mrs. Pinkham's business, Female Complaints:
Lydia Pinkham and the Business of Women's Medicine, by Sarah Stage.
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.
Other amazing women: Nelli Bly,
Dr. Marie Stopes, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson
See also the patent medicine Cardui,
Dr. Grace Feder Thompson's
letter appealing for patients, Dr. Pierce's medicines,
and Orange Blossom medicine.
© 1998, 2005 Harry Finley. It is illegal
to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in any manner or medium
without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations
to hfinley@mum.org
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