Antique Bottle, Dr. Kilmer's Female Remedy, Aqua, Circa 1880s, Medicine Bottle, Cure, Patent Medicine, Embossed, Quack Medicine, Collectible

Antique Bottle, Dr. Kilmer's Female Remedy, Aqua, Circa 1880s, Medicine Bottle, Cure, Patent Medicine, Embossed, Quack Medicine, Collectible

A wonderful aqua antique patent medicine bottle. This is Dr. Kilmer's Female Remedy, Binghamton, New York. The bottle is from circa 1880. It is one of the many quack medicines on the market during the 1800s thru early 1900s.
It was the first quack medicine produced by Sylvester Kilmer. This bottle would make an excellent gift for a bottle collector.

Dr. Sylvester Andral Kilmer (1840–1924) developed a line of patent remedies in Binghamton, New York. By 1895, the Kilmer line consisted of 18 different herbal medicines. Dr. Kilmer was joined in 1878 by his brother Jonas, who later became an equal partner and in 1892 bought a full interest in the manufacturing company. Patent medicine swindlers were not uncommon. Among the most successful were Dr. Kilmer and his brother and their fortune was estimated in the 1890s at $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. Their remedies were indeed miraculous curing a wide variety of diseases, many of those which were of the Kilmers' own invention.

Female Remedy was advertised as "Specially adapted to female constitutions," and this was the first product made by Dr. Kilmer & Co. Its label proclaims the medicine as "The Great Blood Purifier and System Regulator. The Only Herbal Alternative and Depurative Ever Discovered."

The publication of advertising materials inviting attention to prevent conception or cause an abortion was specifically prohibited by law. Hence the manufacturers of drug products which are intended to be used for these purposes were careful not to state openly in their advertising literature the purposes for which their preparations are intended. These preparations were rarely recommended only for abortions or as a contraceptive but were in most cases prescribed to cure all of the diseases to which a female is likely to have. So it was an open secret that patent medicines advertised as being "female" could work as a contraceptive or even cause a miscarriage but because of the illegality of abortion in pre-Roe v. Wade America, drug companies couldn't come out and say it.

The ingredients of these Female cures were mainly tannic acid, cacao butter and a trace of boric acid. The medicine is a simple mixture of a mild antiseptic and astringent. The ingredients either singly or together were not capable of the results claimed for them.



*** Above description will be included with bottle on tan cardstock***

Size:
9 inches in height

This bottle is in excellent condition. There are no chips or cracks. The bottle has a raised bottom and there are bubbles in the glass from the manufacturing process. There is slight fogging in the glass.

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