February 2018 A Page From History column from Texas Veterinaria

Burford, Nancy G.

Texas A&amp;M Repository

HISTORICALFebruary 2018T E X A S  V E T E R I N A R I A N  •  W W W . T V M A . O R G  38The Forgotten Veterinary Entrepreneurs of the 19th CenturyW ellness, in the modern defini-tion of the active pursuit of good health through healthy choices and health screenings, is a late 20th-century phenomenon. Although some late 19th-century veterinary entre-preneurs might have claimed their goal to be healthy animals, their primary goal was selling their products to a public worried about the economic losses caused by livestock diseases. Their names were known far and wide from the 1860s, but few people know them today. Dr. Gilbert Hess of Ashland, Ohio; Dr. B.J. Kendall of Enosburgh Falls, Vermont; and Dr. A.C. Daniels of Boston, Mas-sachusetts, are three examples of early veterinarian and physician entrepreneurs who developed products sold by mail order or by drug, dry goods and feed stores throughout North America. Some specialized in a single product, such as Kendall’s Spavin Cure or Dr. Hess Udder Ointment, while others offered a wide range of products from feeds to “patent medicines.” The products were often dis-played in oak countertop display cabinets with colorful lithographed and embossed tin inserts; these cabinets regularly come up at auctions. To market their products, most, if not all, produced small handbooks to aid owners in the diagnosis and treatment of their animals at home. At a time when trained veterinarians were scarce, these little books could be a useful source of information for animal care. They were also a source of misinformation, with some making claims for cures of diseases such as hog cholera or recommending treatments that were not only ineffective but harmful. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and subsequent prosecutions under that law in the next decade brought an end to many of these companies and their publications. Although most of the handbooks specified treatment with the author’s products, there were exceptions. Dr. Ken-dall’s “The Doctor at Home” described common ailments and offered recipes for the standard home remedies of the period for both man and beast, but when discussing treatment of lameness in any species, he recommended his Spavin Cure ointment. “Dr. Hess’ Practical Points for Farmers, Horsemen, Dairymen and Poultrymen” was another booklet that gave standard remedies of the day for many ailments while at the same time recommending the pre-vention of disease by feeding with Dr. Hess’ Stock Food or supplementing feed with Dr. Hess Poultry Pan-a-ce-a. Possibly the most prolific pamphlet producer was Dr. A.C. Daniels. Dr. Daniels start-ed selling his livestock “cures” by wagon in 1878, and as his business grew, he moved into larger and larger manufacturing facilities in the Bos-ton area. By 1892—the copyright date of the earliest Daniels booklet owned by the Medical Sciences Library—the last page was a long list of some of the wholesale agents for Dr. Daniels’ products in the United States. In a 1911 pamphlet, a similar list had gone international with distributors as far away as China and India. Seeing a potential growth market, by 1907 Dr. Daniels added medicines for dogs and cats; he is credited with mar-keting the first catnip toys to encourage exercise for indoor cats.The four booklets in the photograph were published between 1907 and 1911. “Our Moneymakers” and “The Horse” were aimed at the farmer; they covered the care and treatment of diseases in horses, cattle, sheep and pigs. In all his booklets, Dr. Daniels included a final page that was a form to be filled out and sent to the company veterinarians for free advice. Each booklet stressed the importance of cleanliness in disease prevention, using “Daniels’ Disinfectant Carbo-Negus,” of course. Strangely, it was only in “The Dog” and “The Cat” that there were recommendations to consult a veterinarian for some conditions; perhaps this reflected the willingness and ability of pet owners—as opposed to farmers—to call on professional advice.Unlike many of his “patent medicine” contemporaries whose products were not actually patented, at least seven of Dr. Daniels’ products were registered by the U.S. Patent Office in 1902. Of course, a patent was not a guarantee of efficacy. Dr. A.C. Daniels sold the business in 1914. By the 1960s, the company ceased making any products except for cat and dog toys; it is still in that business today. Nancy Burford is an Associate Professor and the Veterinary Collections Curator at the Medical Sci-ences Library of the University Libraries at Texas A&M University. She can be contacted at 979-845-1820 or nburford@library.tamu.edu.A PAGE FROM HISTORYBy Nancy Burford TAMU Associate Professor and the Veterinary  Collections Curator 

The forgotten veterinary entrepreneurs of the 29th century

Texas A&M University

HISTORICAL
February 2018T E X A S  V E T E R I N A R I A N  •  W W W . T V M A . O R G  38
The Forgotten Veterinary Entrepreneurs 
of the 19th Century
W ellness, in the modern defini-tion of the active pursuit of good health through healthy 
choices and health screenings, is a late 
20th-century phenomenon. Although 
some late 19th-century veterinary entre-
preneurs might have claimed their goal to 
be healthy animals, their primary goal was 
selling their products to a public worried 
about the economic losses caused by 
livestock diseases. Their names were 
known far and wide from the 1860s, but 
few people know them today. 
Dr. Gilbert Hess of Ashland, Ohio; Dr. 
B.J. Kendall of Enosburgh Falls, Vermont; 
and Dr. A.C. Daniels of Boston, Mas-
sachusetts, are three examples of early 
veterinarian and physician entrepreneurs 
who developed products sold by mail 
order or by drug, dry goods and feed 
stores throughout North America. Some 
specialized in a single product, such as 
Kendall’s Spavin Cure or Dr. Hess Udder 
Ointment, while others offered a wide 
range of products from feeds to “patent 
medicines.” The products were often dis-
played in oak countertop display cabinets 
with colorful lithographed and embossed 
tin inserts; these cabinets regularly come 
up at auctions. 
To market their products, most, if not 
all, produced small handbooks to aid 
owners in the diagnosis and treatment 
of their animals at home. At a time when 
trained veterinarians were scarce, these 
little books could be a useful source of 
information for animal care. They were 
also a source of misinformation, with 
some making claims for cures of diseases 
such as hog cholera or recommending 
treatments that were not only ineffective 
but harmful. The Pure Food and Drug Act 
of 1906 and subsequent prosecutions 
under that law in the next decade brought 
an end to many of these companies and 
their publications. 
Although most of the handbooks 
specified treatment with the author’s 
products, there were exceptions. Dr. Ken-
dall’s “The Doctor at Home” described 
common ailments and offered recipes 
for the standard home remedies of the 
period for both man and beast, but when 
discussing treatment of lameness in any 
species, he recommended 
his Spavin Cure ointment. 
“Dr. Hess’ Practical Points for 
Farmers, Horsemen, Dairymen 
and Poultrymen” was another 
booklet that gave standard 
remedies of the day for many 
ailments while at the same 
time recommending the pre-
vention of disease by feeding 
with Dr. Hess’ Stock Food or 
supplementing feed with Dr. 
Hess Poultry Pan-a-ce-a. 
Possibly the most prolific 
pamphlet producer was Dr. 
A.C. Daniels. Dr. Daniels start-
ed selling his livestock “cures” 
by wagon in 1878, and as his 
business grew, he moved into larger and 
larger manufacturing facilities in the Bos-
ton area. By 1892—the copyright date of 
the earliest Daniels booklet owned by the 
Medical Sciences Library—the last page 
was a long list of some of the wholesale 
agents for Dr. Daniels’ products in the 
United States. In a 1911 pamphlet, a 
similar list had gone international with 
distributors as far away as China and 
India. Seeing a potential growth market, 
by 1907 Dr. Daniels added medicines for 
dogs and cats; he is credited with mar-
keting the first catnip toys to encourage 
exercise for indoor cats.
The four booklets in the photograph 
were published between 1907 and 1911. 
“Our Moneymakers” and “The Horse” 
were aimed at the farmer; they covered 
the care and treatment of diseases in 
horses, cattle, sheep and pigs. In all his 
booklets, Dr. Daniels included a final 
page that was a form to be filled out 
and sent to the company veterinarians 
for free advice. Each booklet stressed 
the importance of cleanliness in disease 
prevention, using “Daniels’ Disinfectant 
Carbo-Negus,” of course. Strangely, it 
was only in “The Dog” and “The Cat” that 
there were recommendations to consult a 
veterinarian for some conditions; perhaps 
this reflected the willingness and ability of 
pet owners—as opposed to farmers—to 
call on professional advice.
Unlike many of his “patent medicine” 
contemporaries whose products were not 
actually patented, at least seven of Dr. 
Daniels’ products were registered by the 
U.S. Patent Office in 1902. Of course, a 
patent was not a guarantee of efficacy. Dr. 
A.C. Daniels sold the business in 1914. By 
the 1960s, the company ceased making 
any products except for cat and dog toys; 
it is still in that business today. 
Nancy Burford is an Associate Professor and the 
Veterinary Collections Curator at the Medical Sci-
ences Library of the University Libraries at Texas 
A&M University. She can be contacted at 979-845-
1820 or nburford@library.tamu.edu.
A PAGE FROM 
HISTORY
By Nancy Burford 
TAMU Associate Professor and the Veterinary  
Collections Curator 


http://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/1969.1/166438/1/TexasVeterinarian_Burford_2018_80_1.pdf

The forgotten veterinary entrepreneurs of the 29th century

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Texas A&M Repository

Texas A&M University

The forgotten veterinary entrepreneurs of the 29th century

Abstract

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Full text

Available Versions

Texas A&amp;M Repository

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M Repository