Description

An important product which was very popular in American culture before, during, and after the Civil War. Patent medicines were a dime a dozen during the period but only a few had the staying power to become iconic home remedies with popularity spanning decades. Rush’s Pills was one such product, Wright’s Vegetable Pills was another. Developed in the 1840s by William Wright, we have faithfully reproduced the item and it’s packaging with the greatest attention to detail. (of course it contains no medicine – the pills are sugar mints made in the size and shape of the originals we have examined) As in the original, the pills are first boxed in an oval cardstock box which bears a facsimile of the original label with Wright’s signature and wartime address. (His earliest boxes were made of thin steam bent wood, then cardstock, and later tin with the label lithographed directly on it) The label was made for Wright utilizing a special process of the era which used different shades of ink to give a nearly three D faux embossed effect to the design. We have utilized high resolution color copying to get as much of the effect for you as possible. Next the boxes were wrapped in a “square tube” utilizing strips of newspaper (we have used copies of period publications) so the ends could be squared with the final wrapping. Then the product was wrapped in the famous Wright’s Indian Vegetable Pill wrapper with the ends folded on the square, Wright’s personally issued proprietory Revenue Stamp affixed, and then tied with a fine cotton string. We have endeavored to even make the slight indented ends on the folding that results from the hollow end of the newspaper which appears on many of the similarly wrapped original items of the period which we have inventoried or examined – including Wright’s Pills. (Wright’s Revenue Stamp was issued in ’62 but possibly not delivered to his new agent Edmund Ferret until the beginning of ’63 due to a delay in production – being now in the late ’62 cycle of the 150th Anniversaries we have affixed them. If you would like either the standard first issue ’62 Government stamp, or, no stamp for ’61 and before please e-mail us and we will send them if we have them in stock – note: limited quantity if we do) Wright produced the pill in plain (the yellow wrapper) and sugar coated (the white wrapper). Please specify yellow or white wrapper or we will choose. (the sugar mints are the same in each of ours) We are excited to offer this popular wartime item for you.