Dr King's New Discovery (Sample Size)

[robertk]

Bottle Vitals​

Embossing	Date	Color	Shape	Size (Height x Diameter)	Value*
Dr. King's New Discovery	1880	Aqua	Rectangular with tall neck	1.25" x 4.25" x 0.625"	$10.00

Bottle Views (click to enlarge):

Front	Back	Side	Side	Bottom
Dr King's New Discovery		Chicago Ill	H E Bucklen & Co

This is a sample sized bottle of Dr. King's New Discovery for Consumption. (The full size bottle can be seen here.)

Consumption (tuberculosis) was a huge problem in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and there were plenty of patent medicines offering a cure. This one, from the H.E. Bucklen company out of Chicago, claimed to be "the true remedy, at last discovered" and "the greatest medicine on Earth for coughs, colds, and all throat and lung troubles". Well it wasn't much of a remedy, but it did take the edge off. The main ingredients were chloroform (which would quiet the cough), morphine (which would make you feel better), and alcohol (which would dull the aches and pains). It certainly wasn't doing your health any favors. Dosage was a teaspoon up to four times a day. Apparently even the sample size was enough to produce convincing results (click to enlarge):



It was advertised heavily in newspapers and other publications. And like many medicines of the time, they even had their own publications, like this health guide:

Or in later years, this almanac:

Or this "Lucky Book":

They even put their name on tokens, like this post-war token from 1899:



The 1909 Almanac and the "Lucky Book" are attached, if you'd like to take a look. (The Lucky Book was assembled into a PDF from scans on the Duke University website (see here), which says they may be freely reproduced without permission for non-commercial purposes as long as the source is attributed.)

* Value is based on sold eBay listings at the time of posting, and varies with color and condition.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Really cool. I have both a regular sized Dr King’s bottle and the Bucklen’s Almanac.