(Quack) Antique Medications Series Two: Part One - DeWitt's Golden Liniment

Welcome to (Quack) Antique Medications Series Two!!

Part One - DeWitt's Golden Liniment

The bottle itself is quite interesting in shape.  It's rectangular with rounded sides and rounded bottom borders with a cork top.  There are no special marks engraved into or made into it like other bottles I've come across, but there are hundreds of little tiny bubbles in the glass itself.  This bottle has been selling online for anywhere from $16 to over $100 apiece depending on it's condition.

As you can see the label is in pretty good condition, only a slight blemish noted to the bottom right hand side.  The cork (which is pictured above) is somewhat rotted and soft to the touch.  I have to be careful with the bottle or it leaks some of the medication that is still in there out 😱  Let me just say, it smells AWFUL!!
This bottle originally was sold in an individual box cover that came with a flyer, unfortunately, neither were found with this bottle.



Per the label, this medication was used to treat cuts, bruises, burns, scalds, inflammation, stiffness of joints, Rheumatism and Neuralgia.

Most people know what a cut, bruise, burn, scald, inflammation and stiffness of joints are but some may not know what Rheumatism and Neuralgia are...  Here is a quick and easy definition of them:
Neuralgia - a stabbing, burning and often severe pain due to an irritated or damaged nerve
Rheumatism: any disease marked by inflammation and pain in the joints, muscles, or fibrous tissue

Directions on the bottle state to 'Rub the parts affected with liberal quantities of golden liniment.  In cases where possible, bandage with a cloth well saturated with the liniment.  Unless it is desired to blister do not allow the bandage to remain too long.  Brisk rubbing will assist the tissues to absorb the medicine.'
The Warnings noted on the label include:
DANGER - Keep this away from fire or flame AND For external use only



The label attached to the bottle does NOT have a list of ingredients on it, though through researching this medication I've come up with the following list of ingredients from the National Museum of American History:

spts. turpentine - found to be only mildly toxic to humans, is still used in the USA to treat joint, muscle and nerve pains as well as toothaches and to sooth chest congestion

cayenne pepper - is a very common food flavoring used worldwide, if the oil gets onto your skin it can cause severe skin irritation and burns however, when mixed with other ingredients is very healthy for the skin due to its high vitamin C and E content

camphor - can be toxic to humans when absorbed through open/broken skin or ingested, it is currently used in the USA as an insect repellent and in embalming fluid

oil sassafras - used in making the illegal drug ecstasy and is banned for sale or use in the USA currently, it has been linked to causing tumors in the human body; before it was banned due to the above reasons, people used this oil to put on bee and insect stings to help sooth the irritation and as a flavoring in tea and root beer

oil wintergreen synthetic - used by many still today as an herbal treatment for things like headaches, fevers and flatulence (gas) although there is no scientific evidence to suggest it treats these issues

oil white thyme - an antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial oil still used today by many as an herbal medication

oil mustard synthetic - toxic if ingested and can cause irritation to the skin and mucous membranes, it has been banned for use in this form by lay persons

Below is a picture of the Patent information I found for this particular medication :D

During my research, I also found that there was a HUGE push from E.C. DeWitt to get pharmacists and doctors to become a stockholder in E. C. DeWitt & CO., INC.  I found several flyers, like the one pictured below, that had been sent all over the world attempting to get people to purchase stocks in exchange for discounts on DeWitt's products.  As you can see, this Golden Liniment was being sold (at the time the flyer was being distributed) at the low price of $2 for 12 small bottles or $4 for 12 medium bottles.
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FYI:  This bottom section would not fit on the screen to get a good print screen picture of the whole flyer which is why it looks funny :(

Here is a picture of an actual 1947 Stock Certificate that I found on WorthPoint:

I hope you have enjoyed this Part One of Series Two of the (Quack) Antique Medications Series!!
You can check out the first series here:

(Quack) Antique Medications: Part One - Bromo Quinne Laxative cold Tablets

(Quack) Antique Medications Part Two: Calomel and Sodium Bicarbonate

(Quack) Antique Medications Part Three: Hien Fong Essence

Disclaimer: This, and all the other medications I will go over in this series two, all came from one of my Correctional Officers 💖  He very nicely donated them to me to write about on the blog!!