Title
Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound
Author
Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., Lynn, Massachusetts
Image
Description
A clear embossed glass bottle containing traces of its original paper label for Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, one of the best-known proprietary women’s remedies of the early twentieth century. The label lists 15 percent alcohol “added solely as a solvent and preservative” and promotes the product as a “vegetable tonic in conditions for which this preparation is adapted.”
Condition
Excellent structural condition with strong embossing and roughly 60 percent of the front label remaining; light staining and wear consistent with age. Bottle retains minor residue of original contents.
Gallery
Historical context
Lydia E. Pinkham began selling her herbal compound in 1875 from her kitchen in Lynn, Massachusetts. Advertised for menstrual and menopausal complaints, it quickly became a national sensation and remained in production for over a century. The company’s advertising combined reformist rhetoric, testimonial marketing, and frank discussion of women’s health at a time when such topics were rarely addressed publicly.
Curious Facts, Ephemera, and Trivia
The label also promoted Lydia E. Pinkham’s Pills for Constipation “to be used in harmony with the Vegetable Compound.”
See also: Lydia E. Pinkham Trade Card — “The Ocean Wave” and Lydia E. Pinkham Trade Card — “The Grandchildren” in the Cabinet Ephemera Collection.
Excerpt
“Recommended as a vegetable tonic in conditions for which this preparation is adapted.” — from the original label.
Why it is in the Cabinet
An iconic example of early female-targeted patent medicine, this bottle represents both the entrepreneurial success and the controversial claims of Lydia E. Pinkham’s company. It also illustrates the transition from unregulated tonics to federally labeled pharmaceuticals after 1906.
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