In the 1890s The Antikamnia Chemical Company Used Skeletons To Sell Its Killer Cures – Design You Trust — Design Daily Since 2007

In the 1890s The Antikamnia Chemical Company Used Skeletons To Sell Its Killer Cures

1

Using memento mori to sell medical treatments designed to hold off death was the idea of the Antikamnia Chemical Company, which featured skeletons employed in various professions in adverts for its drugs.

h/t: flashbak

2

The illustrations, watercolour “skeleton sketches”, were created by Louis Crusius (1862-1898), a doctor and artist based in the city.

3

As the skeletons advised, the pills were a “certain remedy, unattended by any danger”. Pop enough of them and you’d be free of worries and pain, because you’d be dead. They contained acetanilide, a synthetic organic compound introduced in therapy in 1886 as a fever-reducing drug. However, excessive or prolonged use damaged the function of haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying pigment of the blood, possibly leading to cyanosis, when your skin or lips turn a bluish-purple hue.

The end was nigh. In 1930, the company was bought up by Block Drug Company in 1930.

4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

The Original British Skinhead Subculture in Photographic Portraits, 1970-1990

Japanese Actress Akiko Wakabayashi Posing With the Toyota 2000GT as Featured in "You Only Live Twice", 1967

This Instagram Account Creates Sinister Parodies Of Vintage Album Covers

Before The Internet: Here's What A Publishing Company's Office Space Looked Like In The Mid-1980s

Rare Photos Of Los Angeles Rock Bands, 1978-1989

Retro Thai Film Posters Tell You Everything You Want To Know About A Movie

Pedal Skates: The Coolest Ride on Wheels Through History

The Goblins Will Get You If You Don’t Watch Out – 1920s Nightmare Fuel

"False Gods": The Superb Retro Aesthetic Artworks of Fârzad Borousan

20 Strange & Unusual Pics From The Early 20th Century That You May No Longer See Today

Rare Photos of A Young and Then Still-Unknown Marylin Monroe Hiking in The Woods, 1950

Photographer Misha Burlatsky Uses 1851 Technology to Capture Portraits on Glass

Pictures Of Arnold Schwarzenegger Walking Through Munich In Swimming Trunks In Order To Promote His Own Gym, 1967

The Brass Era Automobiles: Super Cool Pics Of American People With Their Cars From The 1900s And Early 1910s

The Sculptor Created a Series of Bizarre Sculptures that Represent the Skeletons of Famous Cartoon Characters

10 Car Crash Survivors Pose Proudly For A Chilling Photo Project To Raise Awareness About Seatbelt Safety

Self-Taught Artist and Graphic Designer Creates Figurative Oil Paintings with Pop Culture, Absurdism, and Humor

Diathermy in Beauty Culture From From the 1930s

Lovely Snaps Capture People With Their Cats Over 100 Years Ago

"Pure White": When Asbestos Was Used As Fake Snow

Mavericks Surf Competition

Back In 1980, Citröen Had A Somewhat Amusing Idea Of The Future

The Esquire Glamour Girl Calendar of 1948

Atmospheric Retro Images Of The USSR As Photographed By American Professor Thomas T. Hammond

This Is A Carpet Made Of Vintage Jeans Labels

'Sticky Fingers' - The Rolling Stones: Recollecting the 1971 Stunning Photoshoot

"Untypical Girls": Early Photographs Of Women In Punk From Between The Late 1970s And Early 1990s

Tinker the Robot: The 1966 Real-Life Housekeeping Robot

Soviet Jet Train Able To Reach 160MPH Was Supposed To Change The Future

20 Breathtaking Photos of Dakar Rally 2014