This striking Victorian-era advertising trade card promotes Brown’s Iron Bitters, one of the most widely marketed patent medicines of the late 19th century. The front features a richly colored lithographic image of Mrs. Langtry, “The Jersey Lily,” the celebrated actress and social icon of the period, shown seated in a rustic outdoor setting. She wears a floral-patterned dress with apron, red skirt, and shawl, her pose elegant and contemplative, clearly designed to associate refinement, vitality, and feminine beauty with the advertised product. Bold lettering across the top reads “BROWN’S IRON BITTERS – THE BEST TONIC,” while the lower portion lists an extraordinary range of ailments the product claimed to cure, including dyspepsia, intermittent fevers, loss of strength, malaria, and nervous exhaustion—classic examples of the sweeping medical claims common to the patent medicine industry. The reverse contains a dense promotional essay addressed specifically “TO LADIES,” extolling the virtues of iron as a restorative tonic for the blood, nerves, digestion, and general vitality. The text cites unnamed medical authorities and emphasizes that Brown’s Iron Bitters was uniquely formulated to avoid the side effects associated with other iron preparations. The card identifies the manufacturer as Brown Chemical Co., based in Baltimore, Maryland, and notes the retail price of $1.00 per bottle—a substantial sum at the time. Trade cards such as this were distributed freely by druggists and are now prized for their vivid graphics, cultural insight, and association with Victorian advertising practices, celebrity endorsement, and early pharmaceutical marketing. This trade card was published in circa the late 1880’s to the early 1990’s. The lithography was done by th Burrow – Giles Lithographic Company (New York). SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
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