Vintage Viagra

By Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator
 

Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press, December 31, 1894

Newspapers from the late 19^th century are full of advertisements for cures for a variety of “manhood” diseases. These ads speak to a very real medical need, but also a larger cultural clash. American culture was becoming more industrialized and urban. As a result, many men lost touch with some of the typical touchstones of traditional masculinity, like agricultural work and manual labor. The strengthening women’s rights movement increased this insecurity. 

Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press, July 14, 1893

Elmira pharmacies were stocked with a variety of “cures” for conditions like “impotency” and “all disease that arise from over indulgence and self abuse.” These snake oils also claimed to treat such vague maladies as “seminal weakness” or “loss of vigor.” 

Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press, June 14, 1895

Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press, March 11, 1893

If a man didn’t want to walk into his local pharmacy and request these drugs, there were also mail order options. Shipped in discreet packaging, these out-of-town companies could add a desirable layer of anonymity to such a delicate transaction.

Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press,October 22, 1891

Some Elmira manufacturers got in on the manhood pill market. In the early 20^th century, the Chemung Chemical Company made a product called “Manhood Tablets.” One testimonial from a happy user said the pills “brought promising results.”  

Elmira Telegram, October 2, 1904

A decade later, the Queen City Chemical Co peddled “Hercules Pills. Some of their ad copy claimed, “Both old men and young men at some time in life, from one cause and another, need a tonic to brace up their manly strength and vigor.” The company swore that the pills contained nothing addictive, a useful disclaimer in a time where opiates were pretty common in medicines.

Elmira Telegram, November 28, 1915

If the pills weren’t working, there were mechanical options. This electric belt and “suspensory” was frequently advertised in Elmira newspapers. 

Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press, May 30, 1891

If a local man wanted the opinion of a medical professional instead of just blindly ordering some pills, there were some local specialists he could visit. In 1902, Dr. Henry Ermentraut, a Watertown, NY resident, set up a practice at 402 East Market Street in Elmira. Ermentraut treated a variety of male diseases, including sexual dysfunction.

Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press, March 13, 1902

The Di Bale Institute of Medicine and Surgery at 318 East Water Street treated disorders like venereal disease; spermatorrhea, involuntary ejaculation; varicoecele, an enlargement of the veins in the scrotum;

or hydrocele, swelling from fluid in the scrotum. Di Bale opened his practice in order to bring medically-sound treatment to men who might otherwise be conned by ineffective or dangerous “quack” medicines.

Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press, May 16, 1907

Did any of these medicines or treatments actually help men? It’s difficult to say. The medicines didn’t advertise their active ingredients and we have no packaging from any manhood pills in our collection; it’s likely that those wouldn’t have been something that many men would want to save for posterity.