How Depictions of Women and Children Sell Medication
As patent medicine trade cards were utilized to sell medicine and remedies that claimed to be effective, a wide range of strategies were used to advertise the products. Among the patent medicine trade cards in the UCLA Library Digital Collections, there are six different medical ephemera that utilize images and designs portraying women and children as a method of promoting the product: Alexander's Tonic Pills, Ayer's Sarsaparilla Gives Health and Sunny Hours, Brown's Iron Bitters, Antikamnia Tablets, Three Most Reliable Remedies, and Dalley's Magical Pain Extractor. Our focus will be on specific examples that depict women as caretakers and nurturers and portray the vulnerability of children. By discussing common themes and motifs, we will explore how these depictions were utilized to appeal to the emotions of consumers and how they were used to develop reliability in the products being sold.
First, we have the front and back of Alexander’s Tonic Pills patent trade card side by side. The front portrays a young girl with rosy cheeks holding up an apple with both hands while being surrounded by abnormally big red poppies and nature. Similarly, the back depicts a young girl holding a yellow fan while being surrounded by pink flowers and nature as well. The young girls and their rosy cheeks reflect an image of purity as well as the flowers which also illustrate a nurturing and peaceful image. These featured images suggest that their products were safe and effective for use by the whole family, including children. As a tactic to draw the attention of consumers, this portrayal taps into the emotions of parents who were concerned about the health and well-being of their family members..Next, we have the front of Ayer's Sarsaparilla Gives Health and Sunny Hours as shown on the right. This trade card depicts a young woman in a brightly colored dress holding a baby over her shoulder. The bottom half of the image is decorated with plants and flowers. Flowers are a symbol of purity, joy, and life. Evidently, this is a stylistic choice used to convey that this medication would offer each of these things to the patient. Furthermore, we are exploring a theme of roles and social norms assumed of women and how these depictions can help sell a product. Society often pushes the role of motherhood on women, assuming that a woman in good health and high social standing can and should have children. By depicting this woman to be carrying a child, this portrayal offers users of the drug health and high social standing as well.
As shown on the left, the front of Brown's Iron Bitters shows a young and beautiful woman sitting in a field. The woman is depicted as a peasant, due to her simple clothing and the basket she is holding. Although she is a working woman she still has a pure and simple look that shows how great Brown's Iron Bitters works. Brown's Iron Bitters claims that their product causes women to have a healthy tint on their skin, their cheeks and lips to grow more, and lastly, their muscle strength is invigorated. This woman that is portrayed as a peasant has beautiful skin with full cheeks and lips, making the consumer desire this product.
On the right, the front of Antikamnia Tablets advertises a young woman wearing all white and holding a white flower. She appears to be sniffing the flower, and having a relieved expression on her face. This image is a clear depiction of all the health and well-being that one can experience if he or she takes the tablets as advertised. Both the dress and white flowers express warm color and detail to catch the audience’s eye, and draw them into the trade card to then read on the back about all the different uses and remedies that the tablets provide. On the front, we can even see a small inscription that says “Purity”, expressing how the overall image conveys purity and wellness through the woman and the flower.
Next, shown below is the The Three Most Reliable Remedies patent trade card. This card depicts a beautiful woman in a low cut pink silk dress showing off her pearl necklace. This card was distributed after the Victorian Era, as society was pivoting away from the Victorian austerity towards a new culture. The woman on the patent card is meant to represent the new modern woman. Her body positioning and posture is very open as she bares herself to viewers. This “modern women” is meant to reflect new “modern” health treatments. The novelty of the medication is meant to be appealing to audiences seeking something fresh and new.
Lastly, we have Dalley’s Magical Pain Extractor on the left. This specific card is interesting as it uses both women and animals in its marketing. However, more specifically, the card shows a metaphorical representation of motherhood though the beautiful shepherdess herding her goats. Her baby goats, or “kids” are surrounding her and it is clear that she is a figure of love and nurture. Clearly this is a way of establishing and enforcing gender roles in society. Not only does the card advertise the medicine as a “family medicine” but it specifically calls attention (through the use of the woman on the card) to the fact that the mother would be the one responsible for administering, buying, and investigating the medicine for the family.
This page has paths:
- Student Projects Chien-Ling Liu Zeleny
Contents of this path:
- The Signifigance of Human Figures and Subliminal Messages in Texts in Trade Cards
- The Use of Subliminal Images in Advertising Medication in the Early 20th Century
- Shana Simanian
- The Importance of Vibrant Color and Detail in Patent Medicine Trade Cards
- Patent Medicine Trade Cards as a Way to Reinforce Women's Gender Norms
- Nature's Palette: Usage of Aesthetics and Nature to Attract Consumers and Convey Safety