Medicinal purposes only

For today's installment of curiosities from 100-year-old local newspapers, I offer some advertisements for substances marketed as beneficial and "most efficacious in every way." That description, of course, comes from the novelty ditty about Ms. Lydia Pinkham's Medicinal Compound, a tonic so popular that it spawned a song and a series of vulgar parodies (Go ahead and Google it, but only if you're not easily offended).

Lydia the Pink's magical nectar was advertised in newspapers around the nation, but Gloversville had at least one "healthy" product unique to the locale:

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While you are puffing away on your all-natural, locally rolled, homeopathic cigar, why not whet your whistle with three fingers of a liquid cure-all? Here's one:

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But what to do the next morning, when the healthful glow from the Duffy's has faded? Why not pour a little California Fig Syrup on your Corn Flakes? It's guaranteed "Gentle and Effective," which must be true because it says so right in the advertisement!

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If your constitution doesn't hold up to the hard stuff, you might want to try a kinder, gentler beverage, such as this tasty soft drink, which "acts directly and peculiarly on the blood."

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Had trouble with brain-fag lately? Who hasn't!

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If you're like me, too many of these brain-invigorating, blood-purifying supplements can lead to biliousness. For that, there's only one cure. "Try a dose to-night. To-morrow you'll fee like another person!"

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