Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment

Object Details

maker

Clark Stanley

Description

The inscription on three sides of this glass jar, in embossed letters, reads “CLARK STANLEY / SNAKE OIL LINIMENT.”

According to his own account, Clark Stanley was born in Texas, ca. 1854, and worked as a cowboy for several years. Then, while studying with a Hopi medicine man in Arizona, he learned the "secrets of snake oil." In 1893, after marketing his liniment at several Western medicine shows, Stanley and his rattlesnakes gained attention at the World's Columbian Exposition. He then established production facilities in Beverly, Ma., and Providence, R.I.

In 1916, after the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, Stanley's concoction was found to contain mineral oil, a fatty compound thought to be from beef, capsaicin from chili peppers, and turpentine. He was fined $20.00. The term "snake oil" would eventually become a popular euphemism for ineffective or fraudulent products, particularly those marketed as medicines or cures.

Ref: Clark Stanley, The Life and Adventures of the American Cow-Boy ([Providence, 1897]).

Location

Currently not on view

Date made

ca 1890

ID Number

MG.293320.1380

catalog number

293320.1380

accession number

293320

Object Name

otc preparation

Bottle, Medicine

Other Terms

Drugs

Measurements

overall: 11 cm x 3 cm x 3 cm; 4 5/16 in x 1 3/16 in x 1 3/16 in

overall: 4 3/8 in x 1 1/4 in x 1 1/4 in; 11.1125 cm x 3.175 cm x 3.175 cm

Place Made

United States: Rhode Island, Providence

See more items in

Medicine and Science: Medicine

Health & Medicine

Balm of America

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Subject

Rubs, Liniments & Ointments

Metadata Usage

CC0

Link to Original Record

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-cffd-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record ID

nmah_1298331