The Invention
The patent, US437728A, granted to William Snow and James A. Johns on October 7, 1890, is for a medical compound they call “White Oil or Liniment.” The invention is a topical liniment to be used “externally by rubbing” to treat a variety of ailments.
The patent provides a very specific recipe and process for creating this liniment.
The Ingredients and Proportions:
- Tobacco: 1 pound
- Jamestown seed (Stramonium): 1 quart
- Quill-wort (Isoetes lacustris): 3 pounds
- Poke-root (Phytolacca decandra): 4 pounds
- Salt (chloride of sodium): 1/4 pound
- Cayenne pepper (Capsicum): 4 pods or 2 ounces
- Resin: 1/4 pound
- Lard: 2 pounds
- Water: 4 gallons
The Process:
- First Boil: Tobacco, Jamestown seed, quill-wort, and poke-root are first boiled in four gallons of water.
- Straining: The liquid is then strained to remove the solid ingredients.
- Second Boil: The strained liquid is returned to a kettle. Lard, Cayenne pepper, salt, and resin are added.
- Slow Cooking: The mixture is boiled “slowly… a suitable number of hours until the water is removed.”
- Final Straining and Bottling: The finished product is then strained one more time and is “bottled ready for use.”
Intended Use:
The inventors claim that the liniment is a “cure” for a number of conditions, including:
- Headache
- Neuralgia
- Cramp colic
- Rheumatism
- Fresh cuts
- Burns
- Cramps
Significance of the Invention and Inventors
This patent is a fascinating and unusual example of a medical-related patent from the late 19th century. While the specific claims of its efficacy are not medically verified, the patent itself is significant for several reasons.
- The Patenting of Remedies: This patent falls into a category of “patent medicines” that were very common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Inventors, often with no formal medical training, would patent formulas for medicinal compounds and then sell them to the public. The U.S. Patent Office would grant patents for these remedies as long as the process and formula were clearly described, without verifying their medical claims.
- Traditional Remedies: The ingredients listed—tobacco, poke-root, and Jamestown seed—were common in traditional folk medicine of the time. The patent represents an attempt to formalize and commercialize a mixture based on these traditional ingredients.
- African American Inventors: William Snow and James A. Johns were African American inventors. At a time when they faced immense racial barriers, the patent system offered a rare avenue for them to protect their intellectual property and participate in the commercial marketplace. This patent, like many others from African American inventors of the era, is a testament to their resourcefulness and entrepreneurial spirit.
