Exceptional Civil War–Era Unopened Patent Medicine Package  Dr. Strong’s Vegetable Stomach Pills / SOLD

Description

Exceptional Civil War–Era Unopened Patent Medicine Package 

Dr. Strong’s Vegetable Stomach Pills 

 

Original, complete, and unopened Civil War–period package of Dr. Strong’s Vegetable Stomach Pills, a well-known mid-19th-century patent medicine marketed for dyspepsia and a wide range of chronic ailments. 

 

This example remains factory sealed, retaining its original wooden pill box with contents intact, secured by period wax seal, and still housed within the original outer paper wrapper. Included is the original printed instruction handbill, boldly titled “Dr. Strong’s Vegetable Stomach Pills”, detailing recommended usage and expansive medical claims typical of the era, including treatment for dyspepsia, consumption, coughs, bronchitis, asthma, and disorders of the stomach, lungs, and chest. 

 

The vivid orange-red printed label on the box remains legible and attractive, advertising “Thirty Pills in every box – 25 cents”, an excellent survivor considering the fragility of such paper packaging. The accompanying instruction sheet is intact, with strong text and only expected age toning and folds. 

 

Patent medicines such as this were widely used by civilians and soldiers alike during the Civil War, frequently carried in knapsacks, haversacks, and medical chests to combat digestive illness brought on by camp life, poor rations, and stress. Complete, unopened examples with contents, wrapper, and instruction sheet are exceedingly scarce, as most were opened, consumed, or discarded. 

 

A museum-quality survival and a superb representative example of Civil War–era medical history and American patent medicine advertising. 

 

Inventory Number: MED 319