Rectangular clear glass bottle with long cylindrical neck and tooled, double rounded collar; the front, back and side panels are slightly recessed; there are printed paper labels on the front and back panels, which list product information; bottle is full of swamp-root and corked.
Rectangular clear glass bottle with long cylindrical neck and tooled, double rounded collar; the front, back and side panels are slightly recessed; there are printed paper labels on the front and back panels, which list product information; bottle is full of swamp-root and corked.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Purchased by Dr. M Chiong for his patent medicine collection, from Goodrich, USA, in Oct.1993.
Front label reads, "CONTAINS 10 1/2 FLUID // OUNCES // DR. KILMER & CO., // BINGHAMTON, N.Y. // See directions for taking // on back panel"; back label reads, "DR. KILMER'S // SWAMP-ROOT // DIRECTIONS" (listed) " // Shake well before using // It is pleasant to take // Caution:" (listed); bottle embossed with, "5 // 50"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-A2-1 Row B
Length
20.8 cm
Width
7.3 cm
Depth
4.4 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Condition Remarks
Bottle is unopened and has no chips or cracks; the original cork and seal are in place; the front and back labels have staining, but all printing is legible
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
Document
Reference Comments
See label from Dr. Chiong's exhibit formerly at Bracken Library; "Bottles" by Michael Polak, pp. 19 & 21; "The Snake-Oil Syndrome" by A. Walker Bingham, pp. 26, 43, 87, 94; "The Golden Age of Quackery" by Stewart H. Holbrook, pp. 111-119; "Remedies and Rackets" by James Cook, pp. 19 & 91
Research Facts
Dr. Kilmer’s Swamp Root Kidney medicine began in the mid-1870s and in time became a household name. It was the creation of Dr. Sylvester Andral Kilmer (1840–1924) who developed a line of patent remedies in Binghamton, New York. Swamp Root, which was still available in 1969.
By 1895, the Kilmer line consisted of 18 different herbal medicines, including Indian Cough Cure / Consumption Oil, Female Remedy (“The Great Blood Purifier and System Regulator”) and Ocean Weed Heart Remedy.
The product had several incarnations, originally as Swamp Root Kidney Cure, then Swamp Root Kidney Remedy, it became “Dr. Kilmer's Swamp - Root Kidney / Liver & / Bladder Remedy”.
The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act banned the use of the word "cure" on bottles or in advertising in the U.S.
Swamp Root contained, according to a bottle from ca. 1930, in addition to 10% alcohol, no fewer than 16 ingredients, including golden seal root, skullcap leaves, venice turpentine (larch gum), peppermint, cinnamon, valerian root, and sassafras. It was, the then manufacturer said, a diuretic for the kidneys (promoting the flow of urine to eliminate waste matter) and a mild laxative. It was sold in a screw-cap bottle contained in a bright orange box bearing an engraved portrait of S. Andral Kilmer, M.D.
Swamp-Root Cure contained: alcohol 10%, buchu leaves, scullcap leaves, golden seal root, colombo root, valerian root, cinnamon, oil of juniper, oil of birch, balsam copaiba, balsam tolu, venice turpentine, peppermint herb, rhubarb root, mandrake root, sassafras, and cape aloes. Like ginger, cinnamon is a warming herb that helps with circulation, congestion, and boosting immunities which make it a great addition to any cold or cough syrup.