One Minute Cough Cure
late 1800s

"Directions in English, German, Norwegian, Swedish & Bohemian"
Elden C. Dewitt began to sell bottles of his One Minute Cough Cure in Chicago in the late 1800s. Many of his customers must have come from among the growing immigrant communities. As indicated on side of the package, such customers would find "Directions in English, German, Norwegian, Swedish & Bohemian. Inside." Dewitt's extravagant claims for the efficacy of his One Minute Cough Cure--in whatever language--are typical of how American medicine manufacturers marketed their drugs in the era before federal regulation.

	Acquired, 1964
	Fear of heroic treatments and distrust of institutional systems helped lead many Americans towards self medication in the form of store-bought patent medicines.
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