Hello From The Pacific Northwest

[Toma777]

I'v been collecting bottles since the 1960s, when I would go backpacking with my family in the High Sierras. Lately I've been collecting family heirloom bottles that I can find online, like this Pain Paralyzer bottle from the Haller Proprietary Co. (1888-1918), owned and operated by my 4th great uncle (a Nebraska Senator), who was married to my 3rd great grandmother (which really messes up my family tree).

 

[nhpharm]

That's a cool bottle and I love the name of the medicine!

 

[Toma777]

You wouldn't want to use that Pain Paralyzer, because it had opium in it, and even worse, chloroform! One of his nephew's (Ben) became a dentist, who used chloroform back in the 1920s & 1930s on his patients, and he had a heart attack at the age of 38. I believe they outlawed the use of chloroform on people in the 1950s, after they discovered the link to heart arrhythmia and heart attacks. His nephew retired from dentistry, and then had a really big family. I doubt he ever knew it was the chloroform that screwed up his heart and made him so weak.

I have another family heirloom bottle called Hooper's Anodyne For Infants, that contained opium. I'm not sure of the family connection yet, but the first Hooper in my family tree came over in 1635. I'm a descendant of a dozen Pilgrims, which makes for fascinating genealogy. Over 400 of my relatives came over between 1600-1700, so eBay is filled with family heirlooms, which makes for loads of historical fun.

 

[Toma777]

I've been trying to find the ingredients list for Haller's Pain Paralyzer, but so far no luck.

I've looked through my Haller Health Guide, but didn't find anything. There's an interesting article in the Health Guide about Patent Medicines, trying to defend their use.

I just ordered a Haller Cook Book (1910) off of eBay, and I'm hoping their might be something in it's 48 pages.

Here's the article on Patent Medicines: