What the Apothecary Ordered

Nestol, a preparation from Nestlé & Co for curling babies' hair. Chemist and Druggist, 2 Nov 1929.

And they thought he’d never marry...

Ad for a book called ‘Fascinating Womanhood’, Photoplay magazine, November 1925.

Condal Water, nature’s remedy for constipation, advertised in the Medical Annual, 1901.

The Martyrdom of Mercury - treatments for venereal disease represented in John Sintelaer’s The Scourge of Venus and Mercury, London, 1709.

Did I mention they are WEALTHY?

Prof Allen Ward’s matrimonial agency advertised in the Police Gazette Sporting Annual, 1916.

The Kindle edition of my historical novel, Kill Grief, is out now!

Chester, England, 1756: Rotgut gin is the only thing that can get Mary Helsall through another day as an infirmary nurse. Her past is following her, and her volatile relationship with hospital porter Anthony is tainted by secrets. But who is the mysterious patient who claims to know what she’s hiding? He knows all about her infatuation with a thief-taker, about the reason she is frightened of the notorious Northgate Gaol, and about the shocking events she is trying to escape. From the stormy seashore to the screams of the operating room, and from a backstreet gin shop to the fetid dungeons of the prison, Mary searches for an independent future. Before she can find it, she must fight the attraction of oblivion and decide whether addiction is a fair price to pay for love.

1908 photo of a chick pulling a tiny cart with flowers in.

19thC trade card for Dr Thomas' Eclectric Oil (UCLA Digital Library).

Stegosaurus didn't take care of his teeth and look what happened to him! Colgate ad in 'St Nicholas' children's magazine, March 1916.

Advertisements for White Rabbit Egg Dye and Paper Dye in The Pharmaceutical Era, 1 Feb 1900.

In 1895, reports circulated that someone had discovered the microbe responsible for Death - and the cure that would lead to immortality. Read more in my new post at The Quack Doctor:

A student dissecting a leg at the New York Medical College for Women. Picture from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 16 April 1870.