Burdock Blood Bitters Ephemera

by Darcy O'Neil on June 26, 2011

Digging through some historical ephemera, I found this interesting ad from the 1800s for Burdock Blood Bitters. It was recommended to treat the four greatest afflictions in America; dyspepsia, biliousness, constipation and sick headache. A little fibre in the American diet might have helped. Anyway, the illness isn't the part that gets you, it's the advertising imagery. On the ad page is a well-healed gentleman with the page ripping through his head and lurking inside is a creepy little girl. I'm not sure how the imagery translates into a remedy for constipation, but still it is interesting. Anyone have any ideas on yhe image below?