Chronic Diseases of the Digestive Organs" -- Part II of "Dime Series" Advertising Patent Medicine Company

Buffalo, New York: World's Dispensary Medical Association, 1895. Very good. Light toning and dust soiling, short tears, rust staining from staples, extremities rubbed/nicked. Upper right-hand corner chewed.. Part two in a "dime series" of cheap publications promoting medicines sold by a Buffalo-, New York patent medicine company. Nostrums, snake oil remedies, patent medicines and other dubious cure-all products were an important part of the fabric of everyday life in America in the late 19th and early 20th century. Companies would have to compete for the attention of American families by issuing all kinds of flashy cheap literature through the mail and in pharmacies, including everything from magazines and almanacs to poetry and joke books. This particular example includes the following content: a lengthy overview of the digestive organs and their afflictions; testimonials for the patent medicines on offer with photos; and a history of and pitch for the company's Invalid's Hotel and Dispensary with large in-text line drawing illustrations; and close-up line illustrations of tissues and microscopic objects under a microscope. Single vol. (7.75" by 4.75"), pp. 72, illus., in original illus. yellow wrps with seal of company on front and decorative border, printed in dark blue-green. The World's Dispensary Medical Association was founded by Dr. Ray Pierce, a Buffalo doctor who had been making and selling patent medicines for patients from the 1860s.