“Nature’s Great Emmenagogue”

Posted by Liz on Sep 14, 2008 in Uncategorized | 3 comments

E-men-a-gogue. n. A drug that induces menstrual flow.

I discovered this advertisement for McELREE’S Wine of Cardui in a publication called “Patent Medicine. The Golden Days of Quackery.” This particular ad reportedly ran in a newspaper in Virginia in 1900.

The Wine of Cardui was a leading medicine in the South at the turn of the century. If you click on the ad, you’ll see that the “change” that afflicts “elderly women” often leads to “dreadful diseases such as cancer and consumption.”

Fortunately, the Wine of Cardui (which btw, is based on a traditional Native American recipe), will “strengthen and purify the entire system and bring the sufferer safety over these pitfalls.” The sales pitch that accompanied this product was based on the the contention that because “the great spirit planted it, one could take it and be healed.”

All these benefits for only $1.

Say no more.