c1890 The Home Guest Dr Bull Cough Syrup Quack Medicine TB Advertising Paper For Sale

DescriptionPart newspaper, part medical warning, and very much a sales pitch: The Home Guest was an oversized promotional publication advertising Dr. Bull’s Cough Syrup, dressed up to resemble a one-cent evening newspaper.The front page wastes no time. Headlines announce “Thousands Die of Consumption Yearly” and “Doctors Battle With Pneumonia,” alongside articles on sudden climatic changes and the prominently placed claim that “Dr. Bull [is] Mankind’s Great Benefactor.” Nestled among the alarming medical news is, naturally, the proposed solution: Dr. Bull’s Cough Syrup.Issued around the turn of the 1890s, the piece is a wonderful example of late-19th-century proprietary medicine advertising, when manufacturers borrowed the look and authority of newspapers, medical reporting, testimonials, and public-health information to sell remedies directly to consumers.The unusually large format gives the piece considerable visual presence, while its mixture of tuberculosis/consumption warnings, pneumonia coverage, pseudo-editorial content, illustrations, and patent-medicine promotion captures the exuberant—and occasionally shameless—world of Victorian medical advertising particularly well.Details- Title: The Home Guest
- Advertised product: Dr. Bull’s Cough Syrup
- Date: Circa 1890
- Subject: Patent medicine / quack medicine / cough remedies
- Additional subjects: Consumption / tuberculosis, pneumonia, public health
- Format: Oversized advertising newspaper
- Construction: Single folded sheet
- Dimensions: Approximately 12.5 × 19 inches
- Illustrated throughout
- Original cover price stated as one centConditionAge toning throughout with prominent original folds, handling creases, scattered staining and marks, and general edge wear consistent with a large late-19th-century advertising paper. Printing remains strong and the principal text and illustrations are readily legible.Photographs form part of the description.