Title
Antikamnia Tablet Calendar – “Purity” (1909)
Author
N/A
Image
Description
This 1909 advertising calendar card was produced by the Antikamnia Chemical Company of St. Louis, Missouri to promote its popular Antikamnia Tablets. The front features the striking lithographed artwork titled “Purity,” part of a series of collectible art cards distributed annually by the company.
The reverse provides a 1909 yearly calendar along with recommended dosing instructions for Antikamnia Tablets and Antikamnia & Codeine Tablets. Indications included everything from pain, fever, neuralgia, and “worry,” to morning sickness, menstrual cramps, and “shopper’s headache.”
Antikamnia — literally meaning “opposed to pain” — was originally marketed as a safe, modern painkiller. In reality, the tablets contained acetanilide, an early coal-tar derivative analgesic, later recognized as toxic and replaced by safer alternatives such as acetaminophen.
Condition
Front lithograph retains vivid color and strong detail.
Reverse calendar and text legible, with minimal edge wear.
Light pencil notations present (“Crawford” in margin).
Overall, excellent preservation for a fragile ephemera piece over 115 years old.
Gallery
Historical context
The Antikamnia calendars (1897–1909) are among the most famous pieces of American medical advertising art. Each year featured allegorical or romanticized imagery tied loosely to virtues or ideals, such as Purity, Progress, Hope, and Confidence.
The back promoted Antikamnia & Codeine Tablets, which combined acetanilide with codeine, recommended for coughs, women’s pains, and even pregnancy-related vomiting.
By the 1910s, Antikamnia came under increasing scrutiny. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 demanded honest labeling, and lawsuits followed when it was revealed that Antikamnia contained undeclared, potentially harmful ingredients. Despite this, Antikamnia remains a highly collectible artifact of quack-era pharmaceuticals.
Curious Facts, Ephemera, and Trivia
“Purity” was one of the last Antikamnia calendar issues before the company ceased production.
Antikamnia advertised itself as “absolutely safe” — even while recommending tablets every 1–2 hours for numerous conditions.
Collectors today prize full runs of these calendars, which have become iconic examples of medical art nouveau advertising.
Excerpt
“When women suffer … give one or two Antikamnia & Codeine Tablets every three hours. In short, they are the remedy for the conditions generally known as ‘Women’s Aches and Ills.’”
Why it is in the Cabinet
This 1909 “Purity” calendar epitomizes the golden age of pharmaceutical advertising art — when bold imagery and sweeping claims made even dangerous drugs appear trustworthy. Its survival more than a century later highlights both the artistry and the darker medical history of the era.
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