Antiphlogistine, The Denver Chemical Manufacturing Company, Circa 1910s, Medical Ephemera, Advertising or Product Insert

About this Item

This is a scarce antique advertising leaflet and/ or product insert (circa 1910s) which contains a full description and instructions for using Antiphlogistine, an early 20th-century medicinal product produced by the Denver Chemical Manufacturing Company of New York. Though later products appeared with the same name, the Denver Chemical Mfg Co. appears to have produced the original version. According to this booklet, Antiphlogistine was a salve or poultice made largely of Kaolin clay (silicate of aluminum) and … a minute amount of salicylic acid [aspirin], boric acid, and oils of peppermint, gaultheria, and eucalyptus. It was usually applied hot, and was useful in its ability to hold moist heat for many hours, which allowed it both to soothe sore muscles and skin, and was hydrophilic (attracted water) and could draw out cysts and decrease local inflammation. Our impression is that Antiphlogistine was not a quack medicine but appears to be a forerunner of many similar remedies produced today that relieve sore muscles and joints with heat and aromatics. // The leaflet includes instructions for its use, and a rationale for why it works, and contains 13 half-tone photographs, mostly of women being treated with it for various disorders. // This is a fold-out leaflet with four double-sided panels and is printed on very thin newsprint-like paper It may have been an insert with the product or separate advertising material. // Antiphlogistine had a complicated history. The Denver Chemical Mfg Company began producing it in 1893. In 1919, however, a product of the same name but with slightly different ingredients began to be manufactured by the Church & Dwight Company in Canada, which produces a similar product today (one that is not distributed in the United States). There is also, apparently, another contemporary product known by this name which is used for horses. // At the time of this writing, we could not find another example of Antiphlogistine ephemera on the market. // Two-sided four-paneled fold-out leaflet. 6 1/4 x 3 1/4 in original folded form. // Condition: Paper is moderately toned. There are some tiny edge nicks and a small spot on the final folded panel. There are three flattened horizontal folds that may have been original if it was an insert that was folded to fit in the product box. Seller Inventory # 1745

Bibliographic Details

Title: Antiphlogistine, The Denver Chemical ...

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Very Good