Topeka's Medicine Man - W. W. Gavitt - Part 3 of 5 - WE WANT AGENTS!

As stated in the first part of this 5-part series on the W. W. Gavitt Medical Co., the firm was different than other patent medicine proprietors in that it relied on individual agents to sell their medicines rather than town drugstores or other traditional means. Therefore a good amount of their literature did not consist of testimonials as did so many other patent medicine firms, but rather their literature was devoted to appeal to folks to become agents.

Below, then, are typical inserts of company correspondence related to those appeals.

The next post will feature actual correspondence from some of their agents in small towns across America.

Enjoy!

Topeka's Medicine Man - W. W. Gavitt - Part 2 of 5 - Handwritten Testimonials!

Bedford, MO (cover)
March 11 1913 (postmark)

Well Mr. Gavitt I like your medicine just fine It is doing me lots of good. There is some things about it I don't like so well, I didn't have but 3 days until I had to build an extra outhouse. My wife is up most of the last part of the night and what time she haint up I am. The worst trouble about it we keep the dog awake, he haint slept any for a month. I have got an old democrat over here that never has saw the sun come up. I want to get a box off on him. ha ha.

With more than a million customers and hundreds if not thousands of agents selling their medicines, the W. W. Gavitt Medical Co. generated and received a lot of mail. A good amount of this mail has ended up in the hands of collectors; although their monetary value is small they are most interesting in shedding light on the business, the medicine, the customers, and the era.

About six months ago I secured 30-40 pieces of Gavitt correspondence. In this post I will share some of the handwritten testimonials and orders for the medicine.

Testimonials were the bread-and-butter of patent medicine advertising and newspapers, magazines, product inserts, almanacs, and other printed material were loaded with them. But I always LOVE to see the original handwritten testimonials!

Enjoy!

[All original spelling has been retained in these transcriptions]

A customer attributes cures of gallstones and more to Gavitt's System Regulator:

March 28, 1913
Taylor, Iowa

I am greatfull to you for the benifit your Gavatt Sistum regulater has done for me, I was aflicted with gallstones, constipation and catarrh of the head when I began using your Gavatt sistum regulater. I am now nearly cured have taken your medison for nearly 10 years and no other since I had a bad spell of Gallstones and my other ailment are nearly cured I will use my influence to spread the news of your wonderful system regulater everyone can be their own doctor.

...another: appendicitis:

De Kalb, MO
July 14 (Year not on letter and not clear from postmark)

Kind Friend - please send me a box of Gavitt's System Regulator you will find inclosed $1.00 money order send to:...Please send these as quick as possible these have cured my husband of apendicitis we think there is nothing like them.

Recommended for Rheumatism:

Gerald, MO
May 7, 1911

Sir I want to get some of your Sciatic Rheumatism Medicine. Has bin recamended to me by my father at Galt, MO. He said it cured him of Rheumatism. Send me your prices and Catalogue...I am bothered with it myself and one of my neighbors is such all the time with it. Please send me soon.

...but another customer not so sure:

April 20 1910

Dear Sir:

...I hase taken nearly one box myself this winter and spring for my back and rheumtaizm I am worse then I ever was before I can;t sleap very good Dreame Skarey Dremes can't work more than a hafe a day at a time I never was so befor so I can't reckmend your medson for Reumitizm as i has ben worse.

Topeka's Medicine Man - W. W. Gavitt - Part 1 of 5 - The Man and his Medicine!

You know the old Frank Sinatra song:

"My kind of town, Topeka is...Calling me home, Topeka is..."

Well, something like that, anyway. Topeka, Kansas, is my hometown. I was born there and our family came back there when I was in junior high...we lived there for another 7 or so years. I still have friends there.

It's my pleasure then over the course of the next week or so to offer a 5-part series (count 'em...five!) on Topeka's "medicine man": W. W. Gavitt...a company that did business (all kinds) in Topeka, including making and selling patent medicines, for almost a hundred years!

This first post introduces the man and the medicine...including two vintage (1920s and 1950s) Gavitt medicine packages in my collection...the next three parts will be drawn from a sampling of thirty-plus letters to and from the Gavitt medicine company in my collection from the late 1800s to early 1900s that show various aspects of the business (some of them humorous) as well as testimonials from customers. Finally, I'll tell a pretty fun story that connects the Gavitt medicine company to the Civil War, the Lincoln assassination, and the hunt for John Wilkes Booth!

William W. Gavitt (1840-1922) from the Kansas Historical Society:

In 1867 W. W. Gavitt came to Topeka and organized a real estate and coal business. In 1869 he commenced his banking and loan career. He would become one of Topeka's wealthiest citizens. Although reputedly organized in 1869, the company's rise to prominence dates from its reorganization in 1889 by Harry E. Gavitt, William's son.

In the formative years of his company, Gavitt was the general agent for the Dr. Perkins Medical Company of Washington, D.C. Perkin's major product, hence Gavitt's, was Our Native Herbs, a combination of 21 roots and herbs, such as sassafras, liverwort, balmony, magnolia, rhubarb, prickly ash, poplar, spearmint, elecampane, sarsaparilla, mandrake, juniper, burdock, Canada balsam, boneset, wormwood, and yellow dock. It was guaranteed to cure: "Rheumatism, Dyspepsia, Sick and Nervous Headache, Nervousness, Constipation, Piles, Irregularity of the Bowels, Diarrhea, Catarrh, Fevers, General Debility, Sickness of the Stomach, Pain in the Side, Numbness of the Limbs, Cold Feet and Hands, Bad Taste in Mouth, Yellow Skin, Loss of Appetite, Worms, Stagnation of the Blood, Failure to Perspire Freely, Bad Circulation, Scrofula, Tetter, Erysipelas, Old Sores, Dropsy, Liver and Kidney Troubles, Heart Disease, Fits, all Female Complaints, Dark Circles Under the Eyes, Bearing Down Sensation, Pimples, Rough Skin, and Poison in the Blood."

By 1895, there were more than 5,000 users of the preparation in Topeka alone. Testimonials were printed from such people as a Topeka health officer, a fire department chief, judges, and the whole police department.

The company conducted major drives to acquire agents as the preparation was only sold door to door. Particular attention was paid to enlisting the support of G.A.R. leaders and ministers.

Gavitt later manufactured his own preparation called the System Regulator, with basically the same ingredients as the Native Herbs as well as Cough Balsam, Herbal Ointment, Lightning Pain Extractor, and Pile Driver for Piles.

Gavitt boasted testimonials from everyone—Arthur Capper to middleweight boxing champ Bob Fitsimmons—as well as most of the Ringling Brothers Circus.

The company eventually marketed more than 200 different types of flavorings, household articles, spices, soaps, toilet articles, perfumes, baking products, and even a parlor game "stockmarket," which is currently marketed by a major firm as "Pit." Carrington Gavitt, the youngest son sold the business in 1967.

To learn more about W. W. Gavitt and his company,I encourage you to visit:

W. W. Gavitt Papers - State Archives - Kansas Historical Society

and these articles from The Topeka Capital-Journal:

Q&A: Stock exchange game invented in Topeka
Gavitt was a Renaissance businessman
Herb store lasted until 1967
From gold cure to madstones

The photographs in this post are of two packages of Gavitt's Herb Tablets in my collection, one from c. 1920s (above) and the other c. 1950s (below). The latter package includes the full complement of 100 pills! Also below are package inserts.

The photo of the Gavitt medical display is from the Kansas Historical Society.

Enjoy!

Galveston Research Summary #12 - Galveston and the Civil War in Song and Ballad

When I first introduced my "Galveston and the Civil War" book project for The History Press a year ago (here), I included a link to a YouTube video of Glen Campbell performing his 1969 hit, "Galveston."

It shouldn't be a surprise that the Island City had inspired songwriters before that...indeed, an 1870s book - Allan's Lone Star Ballads: A Collection of Southern Patriotic Songs, Made During Confederate Times (1874) - contain several, most of them celebrating the Confederate victory in the Battle of Galveston on January 1, 1863.

They include:

"Bombardment and Battles of Galveston" (to the air of Auld Lang Syne)...a ballad that covers the period from June 1, 1862 to January 1, 1863!

"The Recapture of Galveston" (to the air of Happy Land of Canaan)

An added verse to "The Bonnie Blue Flag":

The New Year's battle at Galveston was glorious and great.
Our heroes drove the Yankees from the loveliest spot in the State
And here's to General Magruder, the Champion of Galveston,
Who with a couple of old cotton boats made the Yankees "skedaddle hum."
Hurrah, hurrah ! for Southern Rights, hurrah !
Hurrah for the Bonnie Fag that waves o'er Galveston.

"The Glorious January 1, 1863" (to the air of The Oaks of James Davies)

"The Battle of Galveston" (to the air of The Harp that Once Thro' Tara Halls)

The sad: "In Memoriam" - a solemn lament for Lt. Sidney Sherman, who was killed in action at the Battle of Galveston...

...and, the comical:

BURIAL OF THE TOUGH BEEF IN GALVESTON

Died, in the Butcher's Pen, at Galveston, on Saturday night, March 5, 1864, an ancient Gentleman Cow, in the 129th year of his age. Disease. Poverty. His remains were issued to the troops, and buried by Col. Hobby's Regiment, in the Public Square, with military honors.

The Sabbath sun shone bright and fair,
The earth rejoiced in gladness ;
But soon, ah, soon ! the balmy air
Was pierced with sounds of sadness.

The measured tread of feet was heard :
Then came the mourning column ;
And hearts of all were deeply stirred
At sounds and sights so solemn.

The dead came first, a mangled mass.
A poor old cow's fore shoulders ;
(Who died, they said, for want of grass,)
It frightened all beholders.

Some rushed away in wildest fright,
And all agreed in saying
They ne'er had seen just such a sight
And some fell down to praying.

The muffled drum its mournful tale
Breathed o'er this beefy Mummucks
But sadder, deeper, came the wail
From soldiers' empty stomachs.

Then next came on, with arms reversed,
The troops ; all thoughtful, slow and sad —
No money in their hungry purse,
No dinner to be had.

Their manly tears fell at their feet ;
(The dead was not a sinner,)
But tears will flow o'er bread alone ; no MEAT
For supper, breakfast — dinner.

They buried the dead with sober brow,
And thought of to-morrow's fast —
Thus rests the ancient gentleman cow,
(His fatless ribs) at last.

Andy Hall, of the always excellent "Dead Confederates" blog, wrote an article about the "burial" for the "Front Line Blog" of The Civil War Monitor (here).

Other songs celebrate Galveston's Civil War personalities such as Gen John B. Magruder, Col. Tom Green, Texas regiments, and Texas...generally. A link to the book at the Internet Archive is provided below.

Enjoy!

(The manuscript for my forthcoming book on Galveston and the Civil War is due to the publisher in early July and will be published this autumn...keep your eyes on the blog for updates!)

Doctorin' in New England in the 1800s - Receipts and Records

Below I include scans from some items in my collection showing some records kept by doctors in New England in the mid-1800s. The documents give some ideas for prices for drugs and prescriptions written,

They include:

Boston - 1833 - a document of items a doctor (or citizen?) purchased for his practice: ginger, peppermint, oil of Spruce, etc.

A two-page document dated 1868 from Dr. George Brown of Barre, Massachusetts, with a signed revenue stamp affixed by his autograph on the second page. The goods were purchased from J. D. Wadsworth, a know druggist in the Boston area. Dr. George Brown was superintendent of the "Private Institution for Feeble-Minded Youth" in Barre.

Four pages of a doctors log from the 1840s with dozens of drugs listed that were given out over a period of time.

A receipt given to Dr. Josiah Graves, MD for his costs of visits to tend to the sick., 1874 from Nashua, N.H.

Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills and the Civil War - Part II - Pills and Soldiers

This is the second of two parts on the patent medicine Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills and the Civil War (Part I is here).

In this part I offer photos of a late 1800s package of the pills (my collection), the Civil War era patent medicine revenue stamp, and my favorite part: some wartime soldier letters and other wartime literature mentioning the pills.

First - the medicine. The opened package in these photos is a late-1800s version of the medicine. I date it to the late 1800s due to the absence of a revenue stamp (which certainly places it after 1883, when the first revenue stamp act expired) but before the early 1900s when the company likely moved away from chipped wood ovals to oval tins as did other pill makers, such as Morse's Indian Root Pills (if anyone has more information on dating these pills, I'm happy to hear it!)

Second, I honestly don't know exactly what was in these things. The earliest advertisements from the 1840s (Wright's is one of the oldest and first truly American patent medicines) hint that it is from local plants and absent any mercury. It was meant to cleanse the bowels so almost certainly it contained some of the natural purgatives/laxatives such as senna, etc. Later publications such as Cramps' Nostrums and Quackery and Adams' Great American Fraud don't have anything on it's composition, but do mention that the Wright company was fined for making fraudulent claims. This is not surprising when you remember the first post which showed the great variety of ailments that the pills were purported to cure. (Again, if anyone has additional information on the composition of the pills, I'm happy to add it!)

The Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills firm also issued a Civil War patent medicine revenue stamp. According to the excellent medicine revenue stamp website (here) maintained by Bob Hohertz, supplies of the the stamp were made from 1863 to 1880. You can see some great examples of wrappers, almanacs, stamps, and other paper at his Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills page (here).

And, finally, my favorite part: specific mentions of Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills by soldiers during the Civil War and in other wartime literature!

In an October 1864 letter shown in Myron M. Miller's The Soul of a Soldier:The True Story of a Mounted Pioneer in the Civil War (Xlibris, 2011), Samuel K. Miller wrote his wife, Silence:

I want you to go to town and buy a box of Wright's Indian Vegetable pills and send them to me by mail. Just as soon as you receive this...

Likewise, at the website "Letters of William McCormick, Private, Company G, H, 16th OVI (Ohio Volunteer Infantry)," there is an 1862 letter written from McCormick to hos wife, Lottie, that reads:

"I want two boxes of Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills, a small bottle of Davis Pain Killer, Two cotton shirts and my summer vest. Letter paper and envelopes and if you have it, yours and the little ones likeness on one plate."

My favorite wartime story, though, comes from A Manual of Instructions for Enlisting and Discharging Soldiers (1864) which describes soldiers using the pills not to heal themselves but rather to purposely make themselves sick!

Diarrhoea, of all the diseases of the digestive system, is most frequently feigned. Men continue months in hospitals who profess to pass many liquid stools daily, without sensible diminution in weight or physical vigor. These are objects of just suspicion. To detect them, it is only necessary to require the use of the close stool. But a liquid stool is not conclusive evidence; for the discharge may be factitious. Two men were detected, not long since, in the General Hospital at Fort Schuyler, producing diarrhoea by means of "Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills." One had a box wrapped in his shirt on his person, and the other a box concealed in his bed.

I'll always be posting more on patent medicines and the Civil War so keep an eye on the blog!

Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills and the Civil War - Part I - Almanacs

This is the first of a 2-part series on Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills, one of the earliest and best known of the American patent medicines, and the Civil War era.

In this first post I share pages from copies of their 1864 and 1866 almanacs (my collection).

In the next post I will share some photos of a late 19th-century package of Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills in my collection (including the actual pills!) as well as some great excerpts from soldier letters and other wartime literature mentioning the pills.

The illustrations here include:

Front and back covers of the 1864 almanac

Page from the 1864 almanac extolling the many purported virtues of the pills

A typical almanac calendar page

Typical pages (from the 1866 almanac) showing the many uses of the almanac in the home: medical advice, joke book, home and farm advice, proverbs, and song book (in this case a tune written by a soldier in the 57th Pennsylvania Infantry).

Enjoy!

One of the Reasons I Do This: Other People's Family Trees

A few months back, on my other blog - Notre Dame and the Civil War - I wrote a post (here) explaining a few of the reasons why I enjoy writing articles, books, and this blog so much:

Two of my favorites are: 1) what you might call "cross-pollination": learning and sharing information with others interested in the same subject, often in ways you'd never thought of; and 2) my favorite favorite: interactions with readers.

I wrote the post soon after I was contacted by members of the family of the school's famous Civil War chaplain, Fr. William Corby, who kindly shared some period letters with me as well as other family stories.

It has happened again, this time in the context of my posts about patent medicines. With the permission of the writer:

I recently was searching online for Converse Treatment Co. bottles and came across your blogs from September, on the company. I am the great, great, great granddaughter of Herbert Sanderson and Carrie Converse Sanderson. My mother and I have always been very curious about the family and all of their business ventures but have found limited information. After reading your blog we have started to believe, while in the end it may have been a scam, the beginning of the treatment may have come from Martha E. Green Converse as a home remedy. While some family trees show that Martha and Ammon Converse only had one child, Carrie, others others show that there was a child with medical complications and passed away as a young boy. I was wondering if you could send me a file copy of your blogs about the company as well as copies of the letters you mentioned and any other information, for our family records. We have original letter head and a few bottles and have had fun hunting for them, some found in the most random of places. Thanks so much for you time! And if you have any questions as well, we'd be happy to try and answer.

Of course, I replied that I would happily share any information that I have! They replied with another gracious message:

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to hear back from you! Family History has always been so interesting and important to me, especially that part of my family. Most of what I have been able to learn of Carrie comes from news paper clippings about her later in life, living in Orlando. My parents, siblings and I moved to Ohio about 14 years ago, knowing my grandmother had been born here but her mother died in child birth and Herbert and Carrie(her grandparents) adopted her and moved her to FL. What we did not know and didnt learn until my grandmother passed away about 5 years ago, was that my siblings and I are the 7th non consecutive (my mother and uncle were born out of OH) generation to live not only in Ohio and in addition, the county we live in, was founded by Carries family. Pretty incredible to one day learn that the tiny town you have grown up in is where your entire family originated from. I'm so excited to be able learn more! So so happy I ran across your blog!

So there you go folks...there's no money or fame in this but a very satisfying feeling that I have helped someone learn more about their family...and that's plenty good enough for me!

The posts that she was referring to are a three-part series I did on the Converse Treatment Company's epilepsy "cure"...here, here, and here, including some company correspondence and a bottle from my collection.

St. Louis, Missouri in 1851...For Sale: A Human Being

I recently added an original issue of the St. Louis newspaper, Daily Missouri Republican (August 12, 1851) to my collection.

The first thing you notice upon opening the newspaper is that this is One. Big. Paper. It measure about 24 inches wide and 30 inches long...you'd need to have a big breakfast table to read this one in the morning.

The newspaper includes several items of interest to me, mostly advertisements.

There are of course the patent medicine and local drug business advertisements which always appeal to me, including this small section (of a full 30 inch column) for Mortimore's Rheumatic Compound and Blood Purifier (I believe it was a locally produced remedy, but I am doing more research).







But, on this first day of African-American History Month 2012, what really struck me were the advertisements for slaves for sale or hire and an ad for a reward for a runaway slave:












The most interesting by far, though, is this advertisement for insurance for slaves. I've been building a vertical file of material for a future article on insurance companies and the Civil War (some well known companies have great Civil War stories and have maintained their corporate records and history quite well). And, beginning in 2000, several states enacted laws requiring insurance companies doing business in their state to provide any information regarding their role in issuing slave insurance policies.