Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Presidents and Pills



The Washington postcard shown here has a portrait at the top and an picture of the President's House in Philadelphia at the bottom. This house was at 6th & Market Streets in Philadelphia. It served as the executive mansion for the first two Presidents of the United States, while the new national capital was under construction in the District of Columbia. After 16 months in New York City, George Washington occupied the President's House in Philadelphia from November 1790 to March 1797.

The Presidents booklet below has as many pages devoted to advertisements for Miles Laboratories products as are devoted to information about the Presidents of the United States. The last President covered is Franklin Roosevelt.



Here are a couple of my favorite ads from the booklet. The back cover has ad for Alka-Seltzer.







Of all the products mentioned in this booklet, apparently the only one that still exists is Alka-Seltzer. Alka-Seltzer was introduced in 1931 and soon replaced Nervine as Miles flagship product. In addition to Alka-Seltzer, Nervine, and Anti Pain Pills, the following Miles products are listed in the booklet: Dr. Miles Tonic, Dr. Miles Alterative Compound, Dr. Miles Cactus Compound, Dr. Miles Little Pills, Dr. miles Laxative Tablets, and Dr. Miles Aspir-Mint.


I'm participating in Vintage Thingie Thursday

9 comments:

  1. Enjoyed going back in history. These old cards and signs tell a great story.

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  2. Wonderful collection of old cards and booklets!!! ~~Sherry~~

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  3. Wish I could get some of that Nervine...it's been a long day!

    Happy VTT!

    http://serendipityhandmade.blogspot.com/2011/02/vintage-thingies-thursday-leslie-uggams.html

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  4. Happy Presidents Day! That George Wash postcard it just great! Love the pill ones too, the nervous shock had me giggling.
    Thanks for sharing!
    ~Danylle

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  5. Alternative Compound, eh? I'll bet the FDA banned that long ago!

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  6. OH, how fun! I love the ads, I wonder if any of that stuff worked at all....funny. I can only imagine your collection, you have amazing things each week and postcards for everything. I love it! Happy VTT!

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  7. love the post. I went to Mt Vernon last year and the gift shop had old vintage postcards re; Washington. meant to post them for Mond..but did not get it done. darn

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  8. Too bad Nervine didn't make it, I could have used some yesterday! Fun post.

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  9. Wonderful collection! Great Washington postcard and love the ads.

    Jocelyn
    http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

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