This unique book is a fascinating look at the first half century of the Mentholatum Company. Lavishly illlustrated, it brings alive the development of the patent medicine and pharmaceutical industry from the quackery of the early years to the post-WWII scientific era. Also included is a bonus CD catalog which tracks the evolution of modern advertising as practiced by the Mentholatum Company from 1889-1955.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"By focusing on the intersection between the pharmaceutical industry and popular culture, Alex Taylor succeeds in telling one of the great tales of American civilization - the heroic effort to conquer the common cold. Both scholarly and enteraining, crammed full with colorful and exotic detail, Amazing Mentholatum is an amazing achievement." --Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles based author, attorney, and book review columnist
"I loved this book. Played out in the prairie factories of Wichita and the mint fields of Japan - and luxuriously illustrated - this is a tale of an early-twentieth-century battle royal between patent medicines, of Horatio Alger-style entrepreneurship, hucksterism and good works, vividly portrayed against a backdrop of the formative years of today's multi-billion-dollar industry devoted to the common cold as it coevolved with government regulation to curb its colorful and sometimes lethal excesses." --George H. Caughey, M.D. Chief, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, UCSF; Investigator, Cardiovascular Research Institute
"The graphic design is outstanding, but so is the research and writing. It's a fine contribution to local history and beyond." --Craig Miner, Willard W. Garvey Distinguished Professor of Business History, Wichita State University
"I loved this book. Played out in the prairie factories of Wichita and the mint fields of Japan - and luxuriously illustrated - this is a tale of an early-twentieth-century battle royal between patent medicines, of Horatio Alger-style entrepreneurship, hucksterism and good works, vividly portrayed against a backdrop of the formative years of today's multi-billion-dollar industry devoted to the common cold as it coevolved with government regulation to curb its colorful and sometimes lethal excesses." --George H. Caughey, M.D. Chief, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, UCSF; Investigator, Cardiovascular Research Institute
"The graphic design is outstanding, but so is the research and writing. It's a fine contribution to local history and beyond." --Craig Miner, Willard W. Garvey Distinguished Professor of Business History, Wichita State University
About the Author
Alex Taylor is the great-grandson of the founder of the Mentholatum Company, A.A. Hyde. Knowing that the company did not have an archive, Alex pieced together the history from documents in the family collection and from more than 1,000 items he collected on Ebay over a five year period. His background as an artist and collaboration with Susan Hartman, a professional book designer, has resulted in a beautifully illlustrated masterpiece.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must for all Antique Dealers,
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This review is from: Amazing Mentholatum and the Commerce of Curing the Common Cold, 1889-1955 (Paperback)
This book is amazing. If you are an antique dealer you want to have this book in your library. It is a real resource with photos of all sorts of products that includes jars, labels and boxes. Included with the book is a CD which is a catalog of the packaging and advertising art. A must for every antique store and antiqe dealer. Alex Taylor has done a beautiful job!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Watched this in the works being built,
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This review is from: Amazing Mentholatum and the Commerce of Curing the Common Cold, 1889-1955 (Paperback)
I am very excited at last to see the final product of this work. I have watched it progress from an idea, to the numerous ebay purchases being incorporated, to the graphics layout prototypes, to the beautifully illustrated stories which are wonderful to read. This is a coffee table book filled with georgeous nostalgic graphics and interesting folk stories about a humble and powerful product which is an American original, and the men and women who did it. It is filled with anecdotes of folklore about the common cold which you can curl up by the fireplace with and have a good chuckle about how far we have come with modern medicine since mentholatum was a product. I think this would make such a marvelous holiday gift for anyone, young or old, all over the world. I can't wait to see this final version. It is the ultimate collector's collector item.
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