Page from Dr. Townsend's "Hay Fever, Asthma, and Chronic Catarrh."
With the approach of what seems like an extremely early spring — particularly in the Northeast — many of us are checking the expiry dates on our allergy medications.
According to Dr. M.M. Townsend, however, all we need is a pint or four-ounce bottle of his hay fever, allergy, and catarrh remedy to have a sneeze-free season: “…this Remedy, it is believed, will relieve every case.” (5)
In case we should have any doubts on the subject, the bulk of Dr. Townsend’s slim pamphlet, published in Iowa in 1882, is made up not with the technical details of his remedy, but with testimonials to its effectiveness. Henry Ward Beecher himself — brother of well-known author Harriet Beecher Stowe — apparently sent in a glowing commendation: “…your Hay Fever Cure has worked admirably in my case, and in three others which have come under my observation. … Even if it failed in ten cases, I believe that it will be sure in ninety out of a hundred.” (6)
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