Henry Thayer Co

Description

In 1847, Henry Thayer M.D., opened a laboratory on Main Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts to produce his newly developed line of herbal extracts for sale to the medical profession. Born in 1828, into one of Massachusetts' founding families, he was trained in the medical arts of his day by his physician father. His method produced, for the first time, standardized strengths, enabling physicians to regulate dosages accurately. The company, named Henry Thayer & Company, prospered and broadened its line of products and has been described as the largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in America at the time of the Civil War. In 1875, the company published "Descriptive Catalogue of Fluid and Solid Extracts in Vacuo" listing over 800 of its products: herbal based, presented in the forms of tinctures, infusions, syrups, poultices and wines. Prominent among these products was a Fluid Extract of Witch Hazel, listed as a "Tonic, astringent, and sedative; useful in checking hemorrhages and excessive discharges." The final pages show sugar-coated pills, a physician's dose list, apothecary's tables, a diet for invalids, and some diagnosis-related formulas including numerous combinations for cough remedies, a "Lotion for Humors and Eruptions", "Hair Restorative", and "Effervescent Lemonade Without a Machine." After Dr. Thayer died in 1902, ownership of the business passed to his great niece, Mrs. Joseph Sturdevant. The nature of the business changed from emphasis on extracts of herbs to...

Fact sheet

Company contacts

Products & services

Similar companies nearby