Celebrated Indian Liniment - c. 1890

3D Model

At the end of the 19th c. many patent medications were called “indian” as part of a resurgent fascination with the Old West and the Cowboy and Indian lifestyle. Quack medicine was sold as Indian liniment to cash in on the name. “Indian” liniments presumably contained “rattlesnake oil” with magical healing powers. Because of their poor reputation, the “snake oil” salesman was born. One of the most notorious was Stanley Clark, a.k.a. “Rattle Snake King”. Born in Abilene, TX, Stanley Clark spent 13 years as a cowboy than joined the Moki Indians, where he studied the ways of Indian medicine men. Clark highlighted the role of Indian tribes in the production of snake oil elixirs. Other snake oil salesmen also used the term “Indian” on their labels. Nostalgia for the Native American and Wild West lifestyle was an effective marketing strategy. The Celebrated Indian Liniment was made by George Gourtemangme. It claimed to cure everything from cholera to stiff joints. Description by Andrew I Spielman