Pills and profits : the selling of medicines since 1870 : an exhibition at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine / Ken Arnold, Tilli Tansey.
- Arnold, Ken, 1960-
- Date:
- 1994
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: Pills and profits : the selling of medicines since 1870 : an exhibition at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine / Ken Arnold, Tilli Tansey. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![manufacturer A F Pears purchased a work by Sir John Millais in 1887 to use in their 'Bubbles' advertisement. As Fries' advertisement indicates, commercial art tended to be simple and bold. Iconographic Collections VI.2 'Vitamar' display box, [191-?]. 'Oil of Evening Primrose' display box, [199—] Though much has changed in the way that shops promote their wares, the use of large dummy containers has endured. 'Vitamar', produced by Callard & Co., was promoted as being essential to the feeding of under-developed children. The image that the Healthcrafts product is attempting to create is clearly one of naturalness. Modern Medicine Collection VI.3 'Presto Health Herbs' box, [193-?]. The Famous Book of Herbs (St Albans, 10th edn, 1931) Although pressed into tablet form, these drugs were still promoted on the basis of being 'natural': entirely free from mineral drugs; a pure combination of herbs and roots. The images used on the box were meant to invoke an earlier age when people had been in harmony with nature. This booklet combines promotional material and a price list for herbs sold by Heath & Heather Ltd. The preface claimed that some eleven million copies of the book had been distributed in ten years. The fashion for 'reviving' herbal remedies emerged in the early-Victorian period and gained particular popularity in this period. CMAC SA/BMA/ C454; Modern Medicine Collection VI.4 The Food Value of the Banana (Boston, 4th edn, 1928) This booklet was produced by the Research Department of the United Fruit Company in Boston, USA. Bananas are just one example of a food that was treated to scientific analysis in order to ascertain and then publicise its dietary and health value. Filled with references to articles in medical and scientific journals, the booklet pro- motes not just the mineral and vitamin content of bananas, but also their therapeutic value. There are also numerous suggestions of the Many Ways of Using Bananas. Modern Medicine Collection pam QUI60 1928 U58f VI.5 Advertisement for 'Brown's D M Standard Bread', [193-?] The D M stood for Doctors' Manifesto. The bread was sold on the health properties of its ingredients: all the GERM and the SEMOLINA as instructed by Nature. The advertisement was designed to show the careful House-keeper what the STANDARD](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b20456517_0058.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
