Analgine by H. K. Mulford of Philadelphia.

Promoting themselves as “Factors of Reliable Tablets” in their advertisements, the Philadelphia pharmaceutical firm of H. K. Mulford compounded pain-relieving Analgine. Stacked in corked cylinders of glass (above), these five-grain compressed tablets were targeted at relieving migraine, neuralgia, and rheumatic pains. Marketed by 1896 as “a most reliable analgesic” that would “not depress the heart,” Analgine became surprisingly popular with the public. Perhaps people enjoyed the proprietary blending of “Acetanilid” with a salicylate and caffeine. Or maybe some customers appreciated the extract of hyoscyamus. Or did the quarter-grain of cannabis per tablet have something to do with Analgine’s success? (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. This image also appears in the Anesthesiology Reflections online collection available at www.anesthesiology.org.) George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator, ASA’s Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. [email protected].