Buy this book on-line

E. Thomas Lyon : Original Trade Card - "Lyon's Kathairon for the Hair."

Original trade card with a color illustration of a balding man who is preparing to apply some of Lyon's Kathairon to his head. A woman with a full head of hair is shown next to him. Gilt lettering on front. No date, circa 1880s-1890s. 4" x 2 3/4." Trade card is very clean and intact except for slight corner and edge wear and a few minuscule spots on front and back. A Very Good copy. Trade card for E. Thomas Lyon and one of his patent medicines, Lyon's Kathairon for the Hair. The product supposedly cures baldness and recolors graying hair. Emanuel Thomas Lyon (1815-1858) was a German-American chemist who graduated from Princeton University during the 1840s. Between his graduation and about 1852, Lyon founded his Kathairon for Hair. Patent medicines are medicinal products whose healing or curative properties are questionable at best. Historically, many were actually dangerous and contained unsafe levels of alcohol and undisclosed substances such as narcotics. The history of patent medicines in United States begins at its inception but it was not until the years leading up to the Civil War that they became popular. Despite the misleading and even dangerous nature of patent medicines, they achieved peak popularity during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Around the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Progressive movements led by journalists, watchdog groups, and legislators began to stem the tide of patent medicines. 1906 marked the passing of the first federal Food and Drug Act which required medicinal products to disclose their active ingredients, be accurately labeled, and not fall below certain purity levels set by the U.S. Pharmacopeia and National Formulary. Subsequent legislation over the years helped solidify food and drug safety measures that made it difficult for misleading and dangerous medicines to reach the general public. Trade cards were antique business cards that first became popular during the late seventeenth century in Paris and Lyon, France and London, England. Trade cards were often given by business owners and proprietors to patrons and customers as a way to promote their businesses. Prior to the use of street addresses, trade cards had maps so clients could locate the associated business. Many of these cards also incorporated elaborate designs, illustrations, and other decorative features. Trade cards became popular in the United States during the nineteenth century in the period after the Civil War. The late nineteenth century also saw the advent of trade card collecting as a hobby. While they are no longer in use, trade cards influenced the formation of trading cards and were the predecessors of modern-day business cards.. Ephemera. Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Binding: No Binding

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.