A good friend from Colorado dropped by last night...He brought with him good cheer & a full page newspaper advertisement featuring Gun Wa's Chinese Remedy. It had been printed by 'the Denver Republican (newspaper) : Sunday Morning June' 1889'.
The newspaper is yellowed with time, missing a little of the paper itself & yet boasts the claims of an Irish charlatan posing as a Chinese doctor ...Gun Wa.
It so happens, I picked up a Gun Wa's Chinese Remedy bottle a million years ago.....a beautiful bottle at a good price, so I was very interested in the article my friend brought.
The newspaper has a large picture center stage of Gun Wa sitting on a throne holding a fan. A list of benefits of his Chinese Remedy frame his picture claiming to make Weak Men Strong...Lost Manhood Restored...Results of Youthful Folly Cured as well as curing Rheumatism, Catarrh, Deafness, Female Weakness, Cancer, Tumors, Scrofula, Tape Worms, All skin diseases, Asthma, Paralysis, Malaria, Dyspepsia, Fits, Piles, Heart Disease, Bronchitis.
He also informs the reader he will pay a $5000.00 reward for proof of anyone of the thousands of testimonials of cures are not genuine (as far as he knows)....a nice little disclaimer at the end. The rest of the newspaper is filled with testimonials of the wonderful effects of his Chinese remedy.
This Gun Wa's Chinese Remedy bottle is 8 ¼ inches tall, a beautiful yellow with numerous bubbles throughout. It is extremely crude and yet beautiful ~ wabi sabi. The front is embossed :Gun Wa's Chinese Remedy...The back of the bottle is embossed : Warranted entirely vegetable and harmless. The bottle has a smooth base and a stove pipe top ~ an excellent Western square.
This DENVER COLORADO medicine was in business from 1888 to 1894. William Hale immigrated from Ireland in 1888 to open the GUN WA HERB AND REMEDY CO at 1629 Larimer St. Hale expanded his business and relocated to the Croff and Collins building at 1646-1650 Larimer. He was later indicted for mail fraud and the mailing of pornographic materials. He fled to England to avoid prosecution. (thank you Peach Ridge for the article)
The newspaper is yellowed with time, missing a little of the paper itself & yet boasts the claims of an Irish charlatan posing as a Chinese doctor ...Gun Wa.
It so happens, I picked up a Gun Wa's Chinese Remedy bottle a million years ago.....a beautiful bottle at a good price, so I was very interested in the article my friend brought.
The newspaper has a large picture center stage of Gun Wa sitting on a throne holding a fan. A list of benefits of his Chinese Remedy frame his picture claiming to make Weak Men Strong...Lost Manhood Restored...Results of Youthful Folly Cured as well as curing Rheumatism, Catarrh, Deafness, Female Weakness, Cancer, Tumors, Scrofula, Tape Worms, All skin diseases, Asthma, Paralysis, Malaria, Dyspepsia, Fits, Piles, Heart Disease, Bronchitis.
He also informs the reader he will pay a $5000.00 reward for proof of anyone of the thousands of testimonials of cures are not genuine (as far as he knows)....a nice little disclaimer at the end. The rest of the newspaper is filled with testimonials of the wonderful effects of his Chinese remedy.
This Gun Wa's Chinese Remedy bottle is 8 ¼ inches tall, a beautiful yellow with numerous bubbles throughout. It is extremely crude and yet beautiful ~ wabi sabi. The front is embossed :Gun Wa's Chinese Remedy...The back of the bottle is embossed : Warranted entirely vegetable and harmless. The bottle has a smooth base and a stove pipe top ~ an excellent Western square.
This DENVER COLORADO medicine was in business from 1888 to 1894. William Hale immigrated from Ireland in 1888 to open the GUN WA HERB AND REMEDY CO at 1629 Larimer St. Hale expanded his business and relocated to the Croff and Collins building at 1646-1650 Larimer. He was later indicted for mail fraud and the mailing of pornographic materials. He fled to England to avoid prosecution. (thank you Peach Ridge for the article)
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