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America's Pastime: Patent Medicine Trade Cards on Pain Main Menu Introduction Student Projects The Power of Emotional Marketing: How Vintage Medical Trading Cards Used Children to Sell Their Products to Parents The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rise of patent trade medicine cards across the country. Prominent among the many marketing strategies employed were those involving child imagery. By exploring the historical juncture between child imagery and society, new insights are gained regarding the appeal of child imagery and its employment in various marketing approaches. - By Kevin Kerr, Curran Whitney-Vazquez, Chandler Warth, Samuel Sakowski, Eden Breslauer-Friedman Clothing as Tool of Expression: Utilizing Fashion in 19th Century Marketing In analyzing our group’s medicine trading cards, we were able to convey the significance of clothing throughout its relation to medicine. Various forms of clothing demonstrate symbolism towards an indvidual’s perception on medicine as well as foreshadowing the message in which the trading cards demonstrate. The various forms of clothing and stances the individuals and characters in the trading card portray indicate symbolize towards various forms of clothing and stances to highlight the social class and hierarchy of power with its purpose in medication trading cards. The way that every individual is dressed eludes to different perceptions of varying social classes as the medical epherma is not targeted to one specific group. This persuades individuals to buy the medicines and adapt to their encouraged medicine techniques. - By Brittney Abdi, Alan Torres, Jolene Matian, Zoe Rosenberg, Javier Perez Mejia Humanity, Animals, and Religion: The Metaphorical Sense of Rebirth and Apotheosis of Purity. In the late 19th and early 20th century, America saw a rise in Patent Medicine leading up to the civil war. It was a lucrative trade that encouraged individuals to cultivate their own brand and medicinal products. The rise in Patent Medicine could be explained by a multitude of factors, such as rapid increases in industry and manufacturing, urban living, the absence of drug regulation, and the lack of accessibility and distrust of contemporary medical practices. During this period, Patent medicine companies vigorously marketed their products through small, colorful cards that featured illustrations , along with information about the medicine's supposed benefits and ingredients. To persuade consumers to purchase their products, patent medicine companies utilized a variety of marketing techniques. Some of the most popular ones being the portrayal of humanity, animals, and religion to convey the notion of rebirth and purity. - By Dominic Castillo, Vanessa Jiang, Stephen Liu, Leo Martinez, Selena Quispe The Utilization of Youthful Figures, Both Humans and Animals, in Medical Trading Cards The UCLA Library Digital Collections consist of a diverse collection of Patent Medicine Trade Cards that depict historically meaningful and strategic methods of medical advertising, specifically focusing on irregular and alternative medicines. The following trade cards investigate the significance of youthful figures in medical advertisements, as seen in both humans and animals. - By India White Cloud, Shanya Rostami, Andreas Tunney, Noah Orshansky, Netaniel Daee, and Justin Vayakone The Appeal of Youth and Family in Patent Medicine Trading Cards Medical Ephemera has had a long history of using emotional tactics to appeal to its intended target audiences. One of the most prevalent motifs is that of youth and children. Through visual and written rhetoric, this theme appeals to many family oriented communities and their values. From reliability to rejuvenation, for many people children can represent what they want in a medicine. However, this era of trade cards was particularly deceitful towards audiences by using this rhetoric, yet had a significant impact on marketing tactics that are still seen and thriving today. - By Lauren Tanaka, Allison Bushong, Mollie Brown, and Garrison Hallum Innocent Imagery: A Technique of Patent Medical Trade Cards The evolution of curing pain and uplifting human welfare greatly interested the public. To help combat this suffering, medical corporations turned to advertising through Patent Medical Trade Cards. These small cards significantly helped sell medicines throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States of America. Specific techniques and styles, such as Innocent Imagery, assisted in attracting the consumer to purchase the drug. For instance, harmless animals, delicate flowers, and emotional characters were critical sources of visualizing innocence. -By Lauren Heiberg, Sean Eshraghi, Bradley Reed, Camila Ramirez-Leng and Shayan Mansourian Youth as a Marketing Tactic to Relieve Pain Our group page dives into the way patent medicine trade cards have utilized youth and innocence as a marketing tactic to improve their advertisement. We have focused on UCLA library’s collection as a whole and chosen to individually select a few of the cards that best match our theme all together. This project has allowed us to study the advertisement techniques of medical cures and solutions of its time as a group. We hope our findings are as insightful to you as they are to us - By Tara Kahrobaie, Rebeca Daee, Talia Fouladian, Ashley Kohen, Nathan Darougar, Saman Khalifian The Children of Medicine: An Appeal to Consumer Emotions Our group page explores the intricacies of 19th century marketing strategies that heavily revolved around depictions of children and the youth in an attempt to psychologically appeal to the emotions of consumers in hopes of converting sales. However, we also discuss how problematic this can be, especially when the product advertisement itself is deceiving and may even pose a threat to the lives of consumers. Though effective, using the youth to advertise products can be unethical and as a result, there were different legislations enacted to combat this and different marketing strategies have evolved in conjunction with it. - By Johnny Thai, Margarita Balbuena, Ryan Nelson, Chuntao Qiu How Depictions of Women and Children Sell Medication In this page, we examine the usage of women and children portrayed on patent medicine trade cards to advertise and sell medication. Throughout this page, we employ the collection of patent medicine trade cards from the UCLA Library Digital Collections, analyzing the images and text to gain a deeper understanding of this form of advertising. - By: Jacquelyn Bakshian, Abby Kim, Tyler Maghen, David Sagizadeh, Shana Simanian, Mia Tumbaga The Influence of Innocence and Purity in Patent Medicine Trade Cards This page will explore how themes of innocence and purity were primarily utilized in patent medicine trade cards in order to generate enticing advertisements to consumers at the time. Themes of purity, innocence, and femininity entwined with the audience's perception of an ideal person, and this page will dissect how these themes were utilized to create an impactful advertisement for medical ephemera. —By Lesley Sierra, Alejandro Haro, Taylor Sullivan, Karina Tairyan, Jennifer Lay, Parinaz Kyavar The Healing and Appealing Powers of Purity and Femininity Our group page focuses on the use of femininity and purity in advertising as a means to demonstrate the efficacy of the advertised medications. Through close inspection of various Patent Medicine Trade Cards from the UCLA Biomedical Library Special Collections, our group has gained an understanding of advertising strategies and the use of cultural norms to demonstrate medicinal efficacy. Women, ideas of femininity, and purity found in nature are the central themes of our scalar book and reveal advertising strategies of medications in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These cards as well as our own individual pages will explore the complex and historically relevant themes of femininity and purity through the lens of advertising strategies of medications and medicinal products in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. - By Stephanie Zager, Ella Kitt, Megan Sparrow, Corey Gear, Neda Afsharian Parental Protective Instincts: Child Imagery in Patent Medicine Trade Cards In the late nineteenth century to early twentieth century, pharmaceutical companies established marketing strategies in which they value child imagery upon the medical trade cards. By evaluating and uncovering new insights regarding the appeal of child imagery, the selection of six cards from the UCLA’s Patent Medical Trading Card collection will elucidate its marketing values and how it appeals to buyers. By Chelsie, Adrian, Micaiah, Princess Animals used In Medicine Trade cards Our presentation focuses on the use of animals in Patent Medicine trade cards, as advertisements , essentially animals are used are marketing tools. By using animals as the main focus on the image, the companies are able to grasp the attention of the viewers. - By Aaron Kohanbash, Aaron Ezra Kohanbash, Elan Amona, Samuel Kohanteb, and Avner Shamtoub The Usage of Various Species in Advertising Medicinal Products The UCLA Patent Medicine Trade Cards expounds on medicine under a variety of labels and names through its collection of 247 patent medicine trade cards. With the variety of medical products on the market, companies utilized artwork to advertise their products to the general public. Specifically, various species and the attributes associated with them were one common theme among patent medicine trading cards. - By Hoyeol Lee, Fady Tawfik, Daniel Rabkin, Mia Kubal, Sarkis Vartanyan, and Daniel Pirian Utilizing Trade Cards as a Key Advertising Technique Trade card makers employed them as a medium to promote medical products, utilizing various advertising tactics to entice consumers and guarantee profitable sales. These marketing approaches included leveraging maternal connections, portraying children, emphasizing the product's "healing powers," and presenting visually appealing designs. By- Hannah Shaye, Yaelle Shaye, Leah Tabibi, Odelia Safadel, Ely Gabbaypour, and Arya Afgham 19th Century Remedies for Women's Daily Troubles During the 19th century, patent medicine trade cards often were marketed to women. These cards advertised products that intended to relieve ordinary women of troubles that they faced on a daily basis. Many of these products included cure-alls, medicine for mothers, and medicinal makeup, which addressed the frequent concerns women experienced regarding bodily health, motherhood, and femininity. – By Omotola Adesina, Gengjia Lin, Renateh Moradian, Grant Pate, and Brooke Vallone.

Herbal Medicinal Trading Cards

40985 Patent medicine trading cards were promotional materials used by medicine manufacturers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They depicted various patent medicines and their supposed benefits, often with before-and-after images or testimonials from satisfied customers. The cards were distributed as inserts in newspapers or magazines, giveaways at pharmacies, or part of a larger advertising campaign. They were popular with both children and adults, who collected and traded them as a hobby. However, their popularity declined in the early 20th century as the public became more aware of the lack of scientific evidence behind many of these medicines and the harmful ingredients they contained. Today, patent medicine trading cards are a rare and fascinating artifact of a bygone era.

Trading cards have been popular for decades, depicting everything from sports heroes to movie stars. But did you know that trading cards were also used to promote herbal remedies? In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many pharmaceutical companies produced trading cards featuring herbal ingredients and their medicinal properties. Today, we will introduce you to three trading cards that showcase the power of herbal ingredients. These cards feature some of the most commonly used herbs in traditional medicine, and provide fascinating insight into the history of natural remedies. Whether you are a collector, a history buff, or simply interested in the power of herbs, these trading cards are sure to captivate and inspire. So, let's dive into the world of herbal medicine and discover the fascinating stories behind these three trading cards

The anchor image contains the back of the card titled "Oregon Blood Purifier". I chose this to be my anchor image as it was the most decorated and fascinating back of the card in the cards that I have seen in the collection. There is a baby surrounded by branches representing the purity and innocence that the card claims that the blood will be after ingestion of the product. There are also huge letters with the words safe, speedy, and sure.

The front of the anchor image is a bright red color, a vibrant shade where a lady is shown wearing a rainbow headband. There is a moon crescent behind her and the Title of card in an interesting font above. This card calls for natural remedies using herbs and plants mostly to purify and detoxify the blood of an individual who consumes it.

This card on the front, titled Dr. Jones’ Ta’xicum Tonic uses natural herbs and plants to create a tonic meant to cure various diseases and prolong life. In the picture in front of the card, the little girl is giving a bottle to her grandmother to cure her and make her feel better. In the background, we see plants, trees, and flowers in a natural environment. Not in an industrial environment, which resembles how the medicine is made from all natural ingredients to cure ailments as opposed to its synthetic counterparts.

This card on the back, titled Dr. Jones’ Ta’xicum Tonic, has all the information about the medicine such as which diseases it cures, who made it, and where it was made. According to the card, the medicine was made by Dr. Jones. The card shows that the bottles were sold for $0.75 per bottle and it was sold in Philadelphia by a wholesaler. The back of the card has nothing special on it like some other cards. The front of the card on the other hand has a lot of detail and supplies the viewers with a detailed picture.

The last card is titled Dr. Ingham's Nervine Pain Extractor. Vegetable Liver Pills. The front of the card shows an adolescent girl dressed up nicely. She is holding a basket of flowers and red cherries. The vegetable pills are supposed to relieve nerve pain. The card claims that the pills are purely from herbal remedies and other plants with no man made chemicals that toxify the body even further. The pills are manufactured and were curated in Vermont. The back of the card is quite plain with only writing and a subtitle to go along with it.

This page has paths:

The Utilization of Youthful Figures, Both Humans and Animals, in Medicinal Trading Cards. Noah Orshansky The UCLA Library Digital Collections consist of a diverse collection of Patent Medicine Trade Cards that depict historically meaningful and strategic methods of medical advertising, specifically focusing on irregular and alternative medicines. The following trade cards investigate the significance of youthful figures in medical advertisements, as seen in both humans and animals. - By India White Cloud, Shanya Rostami, Andreas Tunney, Noah Orshansky, Netaniel Daee, and Justin Vayakone
Contents of this path:
1. The Utilization of Animals to Advertise Medical Trading Cards in the 19th Century UCLA’s Patent Medicine Trade Cards collection consists of 247 advertisements for irregular and alternative medicine from the nineteenth century. This page will examine three cards from the entire exhibition, providing a small glimpse into the world of medical ephemera. The cards chosen for this project explore how different illustrations of animals were employed as a marketing tool and technique. - by India White Cloud
2. Methods of Advertisement Doctors did to Sell Pharmaceutical Drugs in the 19th Century UCLA Digital Library Collection consist of many different Patent Medicine Trade Cards. The ones that are being presented on this page show how medicine manufacturers would advertise their pharmaceutical products in the early nineteenth century. These patent medicine trade cards grabbed individuals’ attention with the illustration that was being shown. In the early nineteenth century, medicine was distributed very differently than how it is presented today. Back then, there was an illustration of animals, children, and elderlies, and now, pharmaceutical drugs do not have any illustration and just have the drug name and the dose of the medication. - Shanya Rostami
3. Nature's Healing Touch: The Role of Natural Imagery in Medicinal Trading Card Ephemera Advertising
4. The Employment of Purity and a Carefree Nature in Medical Advertisement The UCLA Library Digital Collections showcase a variety of Patent Medicine Trade Cards that, today, serve as medical ephemera, however from a historical standpoint, were effective and common forms of medical advertisement, for irregular and alternative medicines, in particular. The three selected cards below focus on themes of purity, thus evoking a carefree nature, for specifically medical advertisements. -Noah Orshansky
5. Herbal Medicinal Trading Cards Patent medicine trading cards were promotional materials used by medicine manufacturers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They depicted various patent medicines and their supposed benefits, often with before-and-after images or testimonials from satisfied customers. The cards were distributed as inserts in newspapers or magazines, giveaways at pharmacies, or part of a larger advertising campaign. They were popular with both children and adults, who collected and traded them as a hobby. However, their popularity declined in the early 20th century as the public became more aware of the lack of scientific evidence behind many of these medicines and the harmful ingredients they contained. Today, patent medicine trading cards are a rare and fascinating artifact of a bygone era.
6. Outlook of Health in the 19th Century: Fixation on Blood Purity and Removing Pain

This page references:

Dr. Ingham's Nervine Pain Extractor. Vegetable Liver Pills (Front)
Dr. Jones' Taraxacum Tonic (Front)
Dr. Ingham's Nervine Pain Extractor. Vegetable Liver Pills (Front)
Effects of Oregon blood purifier (Front) Original trade card forms part of: Collection no.311, History & Special Collections for the Sciences, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, UCLA. Front of the card shows a young lady in white sleeveless dress, with short blond hair in a half moon. The lady is gazing to the unknown and she is very thoughtful. The picture is placed in a red background.The back of the card depicts an baby in a painted Victorian oval shape frame on the top half and on the bottom half it shows three big S letters back to back and on the letters three words are written, safe, speedy, sure.
Dr. Jones' Taraxacum Tonic (Back)
Effects of Oregon blood purifier (Back) Original trade card forms part of: Collection no.311, History & Special Collections for the Sciences, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, UCLA. Front of the card shows a young lady in white sleeveless dress, with short blond hair in a half moon. The lady is gazing to the unknown and she is very thoughtful. The picture is placed in a red background.The back of the card depicts an baby in a painted Victorian oval shape frame on the top half and on the bottom half it shows three big S letters back to back and on the letters three words are written, safe, speedy, sure.
Oregon Blood Purifier Back Cropped Original trade card forms part of: Collection no.311, History & Special Collections for the Sciences, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, UCLA. Front of the card shows a young lady in white sleeveless dress, with short blond hair in a half moon. The lady is gazing to the unknown and she is very thoughtful. The picture is placed in a red background.The back of the card depicts an baby in a painted Victorian oval shape frame on the top half and on the bottom half it shows three big S letters back to back and on the letters three words are written, safe, speedy, sure.