Cylindrical clear glass bottle with long bulbous neck; sloped shoulders ending with protruding lip; without cork; manufacturing information embossed on side; mould lines visible.
Cylindrical clear glass bottle with long bulbous neck; sloped shoulders ending with protruding lip; without cork; manufacturing information embossed on side; mould lines visible.
Embossed on sides: "NEWBRO'S // HERPICIDE // KILLS THE // DANDRUFF GERM" on bottom: "390"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-A4-8 Box 3 Row C
Length
15.3
Diameter
4.5
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Condition Remarks
Minor bubbles in glass; minor residue in bottom
Copy Type
original
Reference Types
Internet
Reference Comments
Newbro's Herpicide. The National Museum of American History
Research Facts
Newbro’s Herpicide was developed at the end of the 19th century by Dupont M. Newbro, owner of Newbro Drug Company, a wholesale drug business in Butte, Mont. Mr. Newbro promoted the theory that a bacterium or parasite was the cause of dandruff, which then led to baldness. He claimed to have worked with a bacteriologist to create a formula that would kill the "dandruff germ." Hence the name Herpicide: Herpes (from the Latin "to creep") and cide ("to kill"). Newbro trademarked the word in 1899. By 1902 he sold his Montana drug business to focus on his new product and company, the Herpicide Company, established in Detroit, Mich. The formula proved very successful, and Newbro’s Herpicide was sold nationwide and in Europe through the 1930s.