Thursday, September 29, 2011

Hood's Sarsaparilla Saved My Life

If you read the back of this 1884 trade card, you can discover how Hood's cures what ails you, and how it saved the life of J.H. Martin of Delight, Kansas. Then you can head on over to G.L. Swift & Son in Marathon, New York to buy 100 doses for a dollar.


George Lucien Swift was the first grocer and a prominent businessman in Marathon, New York until his death in 1900. After visiting his daughter in New York City in the summer of 1900, he became ill with some ailment that sarsaparilla could not cure. His health declined as the year progressed. Although he was able to get up for Thanksgiving dinner, he died a few weeks later.

8 comments:

  1. It is so funny and kind of sad I believe how back then they thought there were so many things that could cure this and that ...that today we think of my...no they didn't! But believing in something sure does make it help...this is a beautiful photo for sure! It would have caught my eye, back in the day !!!

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  2. A couple of years ago I did a post on the theme of late 19th-century advertising claims, including a bar of soap literally saving a child's life and the role of one of the competitors of Hood's in the discovery of America. It's at: http://dreamersrise.blogspot.com/2009/07/truth-in-advertising.html

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  3. It's hard to believe now that all those claims were made and people believed them.

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  4. Ah, but Mr Swift would have died many years before 1900 if he had not been drinking Hood's Sarsaparilla regularly.

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  5. I hear it gives you the strength to tear through newspapers head first!

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  6. Quite an interesting graphic on the front of the card, bursting thru the paper with health and vigor! I used to drive thru Marathon on the way to Greek Peak ski area (guess somebody missed their homeland...) years ago. Wasn't much there then, guessing it hasn't changed too alot since, but am sorry I never stopped into Swift and Son's for a belt of Hood's.

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  7. an early study of the placebo effect, i daresay!!
    :D~
    HUGZ

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  8. The image on the ad is almost alarming!

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