[AMERICANA] SARSAPARILLA CALENDAR 1893

Lowell, Massachussetts, 1893. Charles Ira Hood (1845-1922) worked in his father’s apothecary shop as a child and became a prescription clerk as a young man. In 1876 he began to create his own sarsaparilla medicine, using the eponymous root along with dandelion, gentian, juniper berries, and alcohol. Without any federal regulations on ingredient transparency, beverage makers of the era often claimed that their products cured a variety of ailments, and Hood was no exception. This calendar includes a testimonial from a Mrs. Ogden Snyder, who apparently was cured of a tumor through her regular use of Hood’s Sarsaparilla, and able to keep up with the housework in her good health. ~~Hood was an expert marketer of his products, as this calendar attests. “The Young Discoverers” pictured here also feature in Hood’s trading cards. The pages of the calendar were clearly used, with 5 of the days marked for the “Dr”. Clearly someone was ill and perhaps, hoped the Sarsaparilla would help them. The pages for November and December remain, along with testimonials and astronomical information. 8 1/2” x 6”~.