Victorian Quackery promised better lives for everyone. Believing the hype, the burgeoning middle class queued up for an endless array of questionable products including medicines and cosmetics. All made wild claims of quick success and fast cures.
While swindlers have been around since the beginning of human history, 19th century advances in manufacturing brought an explosion of merchandise to the marketplace. Coupled with the arrival of affordable printing, the emerging business of advertising and the rise of mass media, people were overwhelmed by choices.
In hind sight, we can laugh at the following ads and our ancestors who fell for Victorian Quackery. But we might be equally guilt when it comes to gullibility. According to Harvard Health and FDA Statistics, “there were more than 14,000 drug recalls in the last 10 years… That averages out to nearly four drug recalls a day. ” The global anti-wrinkle products market size was estimated at roughly USD 12 billion in 2023 and the hair restoration market at USD 6.4 billion. Still, our skin wrinkles and our hair thins.
Today’s marketing experts, much like the con artists of Victorian Quackery, play to our needs and desires. They trigger our fears until we’re desperate to believe the most obvious lies.
As the old saying goes, “A lie travels around the globe while truth is still tying its running shoes.”
It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
Life was short and dangerous in the 1800s and early 1900s. Overcrowding and lack of sanitation spread illness. Diseases including cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, smallpox and syphilis flourished among all classes. In response, Victorian Quackery produced a frenzy of patented medicines. Many of the formulations looked and smelled like common household items because that was exactly what they were.
If it looks, walks, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.
According to the Tees Valley Museums in the North East of England, unqualified con artists who were looking to make easy money sold these medicines.
“They had easy access to cheap poisons and addictive drugs to create their pills and tonics. Quack doctors would stand in the streets selling their wears and had to be good talkers, charismatic and believable.” (Tees Museums)
Some of their potions were did no harm other than taking people’s hard-earned money. Others added dangerous ingredients.
“Arsenic found its way into babies teething powders, opium and tobacco were marketed as cures for asthma, heroin was used in children’s cough medicine and morphine was prescribed for menstrual cramps up until the 1930s.” (Tees Museums)
Laudanum was another popular ingredient used in Victorian Quackery.
“A mixture of strong alcohol and opium, it was taken for most ailments, aches and pains, diseases, labor pains, and given to babies to settle them. Twenty drops of Laudanum could be bought for a penny, making it a favorite of the working classes.” (Tees Museums)
As little as three or four drops could be lethal to a child.
“Queen Victoria used Laudanum habitually for menstrual cramps and regularly enjoyed cocaine gum.“(Tees Museums)
Drugs used widely in Victorian Quackery included opium, morphine, heroin and cocaine. Their addictive properties were not formally recognized until well into the 1900s.
Things Go Better With Coke
One of the most famous tonics to come from Victorian Quackery was Coca Cola. It made its debut in 1886 as a cure-all for most disease. But its number one use was a cure for morphine addiction. Keep in mind that other medications were turning people into morphine addicts. The Coca Cola cure was a combination of copious amounts of caffeine from the African kola nut and cocaine from the coca leaf. And yes, it was highly addictive like the morphine people were trying to quit.
“Coca Cola was sold as a non-alcoholic drink and was popular with members of the temperance movement. The cocaine was permanently taken out of the recipe in 1904.” (Tees Museums)
Cocaine was also used to quash toothaches and to calm coughs.
Over-the-counter sales of opium, heroin, cocaine and morphine were finally banned under the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1920.
Pink Pills For Pale People
Dr William’s ‘Pink Pills’ were advertised as an iron rich tonic for the blood and nerves to treat anemia, lack of energy and poor appetite. It also “cured” depression and paralysis.
According to the Science Museum Group, Dr William Jackson developed the pills containing ferrous sulfate and magnesium sulfate in Canada in 1886. George Fulford (1852-1905) bought the patent for the pills in 1890.
“The pills were available across Europe, North America and China and were eventually withdrawn in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. The ingredients for the pills changed several times, with only the name ‘Pink Pills’ remaining the same.” (Science Museum Group)
At least these pills offered iron supplementation.
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Toxic chemicals were used for centuries in beauty products, but Victorian Quackery brought the usage to new levels.
Arsenic-Laced Cosmetics and soaps were commonly used for tooth cement, hair dye and nail treatments.
According to the Science Museum Group:
“Some off-the-shelf arsenic products were even marketed as approved by doctors, such as Dr Mackenzie’s ‘medicated’ arsenic soap, or Dr Campbell’s ‘safe’ arsenical complexion wafers (which were intended to be eaten)!” (Science Museum Group)
Arsenic wafers promised a translucent complexion and bright eyes. Some people preferred to use drops of belladonna to achieve the image of large, bright eyes, although the deadly nightshade when over used could cause blindness.
“Risky beauty treatments continued to exist well into the last century – radium was thought to be a cure-all wonder material in the first half of the 20th century, and it was added to anything you can think of – especially cosmetics.” (Science Museum Group)
These products continued to be sold even into the 20th century.
I Can Breathe Again
A Scottish born physician named James Anderson was pursuing business interests in India where he learned that locals treated asthma by inhaling smoke. His observation led people to rolling belladonna in cigars or stuffing it in pipes for relief from asthma.
Atropine, a white alkaloid, was discovered in 1833 and isolated in 1867. The active ingredient in belladonna, stramonium, black henbane, and lobelia opened airways.
Athma.net writes:
“By 1879, an asthma cigarette craze struck Europe and the U.S. You could buy a box of factory-rolled cigarettes. Common ones sold were Schiffmanns, Asthmador, Potters, Marshalls, and Kingsmans. They contained any combination of belladonna, stramonium, and Atropine.” (asthma.net)
Asthma cigarettes were phased out after the inhaler was invented in 1957. But they remained on the market until the 1980s.
Let The Buyer Beware
This Latin phrase translates to caveat emptor, a common law doctrine used for centuries in the sale of many goods including real estate. It places responsibility on the buyer to make sure the product works to their satisfaction before purchasing.
The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection writes in Medical Quakery:
“Today’s snake oil sellers try to convince you they have discovered new solutions to age-old problems. They use national advertising campaigns to deceptively sell “miracles” they cannot produce – potions and products for health, beauty, vitality and happiness.” (datcp)
Their tips on Spotting Scams could come straight from Victorian Quackery.
Does the promoter use testimonials that sound too good to be true?
Does the ad promise “a quick and easy cure?”
Does the promoter use key words such as “miraculous,” “exclusive,” “secret,” or “ancient”?
Is the product said to contain mysterious and exotic ingredients from far-away places?
Is the product advertised as available from only one source requiring payment in advance?
Is the product advertised as effective for a wide range of ailments or for undiagnosed pain?
Hoaxes and scams were rampant in the 19th century just as they are today. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Many people bought the Brooklyn Bridge and famous monuments.
- An alleged giant potato spawned one of the first viral photos.
- The Great Moon Hoax captivated Victorian readers with imagery of inhabitants on the moon.
- Tall-tale postcards drew visitors to small towns.
- Tulip Mania was a fabrications still believed by many.
Victorian Secrets From Footnotes In History
Know The Past To Invent The Future
