© Frank H. Jump
Martha’s Vintage Attic
The Quack Doctor
Chas. Patterson Feed © Frank H. Jump
On a website called The Museum of Menstruation, there’s a tongue-in-cheek anecdote taken from a 1904 women’s medical journal called “The 20th Century Song Book”: “Menstrual, kidney & liver problems, constipation & bowels, tiredness, indigestion,colic, colds, chills, fever, childbirth, rheumatism, arthritis, menarche,leuchorrhea, dizziness, pain, headache, Cardui, Wine of Cardui, tonic, ‘female weakness,’ etc.” Perhaps this should be sung to a popular “list song” tune like the “Twelve Days of Christmas” or Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” – Fading Ads of New York City (History Press, 2011) © Frank H. Jump
According to The Mary Frans Muse Weebly:
In 1880 Dr. McElree’s Wine of Cardui was introduced, a menstrual relief product for women . To maintain the company’s building reputation for quality, the new product was delivered to customers with the agreement that they would pay for it only if fully satisfied with its results. Wine of Cardui immediately became successful, as more than 6,500 women reported cures and sent payment to the company for an initial shipment of 7,000 bottles…. The Company was founded as the Chattanooga Medicine Company on February 21, 1879. It began operations in a small unpretentious 2-story brick building located on a muddy, unpaved road called Market Street in the heart of downtown Chattanooga. At the time, the city of Chattanooga consisted of fewer than 10,000 people whose occupations often centered around the railroad and thriving river port.
