This liniment was one of many products on the “patent medicine” market at the end of the 19th century. It was manufactured by the William W. Brownfield company of St. Louis, MO. Brownfield’s Liniment claimed to treat rheumatism, weak back, stiff neck, colds and tightness of chest, neuralgia and all pains, soreness, strains and bruises, including Cholera Morbus, internal pain, cramps, colic, in a word, everything. It was not unusual for “patent medications” to have exagerated claims. Congress clamped down on such frivolous claims in 1906. Many companies were fined and went bancrupt. The William W. Brownfield company filed for a trademark and patents for a pill against chills and fever in 1879 but by 1903, the name changed to Brownfield Medicine Co., and owned at least 50,000 stocks. By the following year they seized to exist. The bottle in our collection is written in both English and German. Mr. Brownfiled was most likely of German ancestry or was appealing to a German audience. Description by Andrew Spielman
Comments