Chloroforming Coughs? A Tin of Gibson ’s Linseed, Liquorice, and Chlorodyne

During an 1848 cholera outbreak in India, British Army Surgeon J. Collis Browne, M.R.C.S. (1819 to 1884) used Chlorodyne —his formulation of laudanum, cannabis, and chloroform—as an antidiarrheal remedy. Years later, he partnered with London pharmacist J. T. Davenport to mass-market Chlorodyne as a panacea. From Manchester, England, Robert Gibson& Sons combined Chlorodyne with Linseed and Liquorice in decorative tins of cough lozenges (above). By 1901 these “beautifully enameled counter show tins” were advertised to American professionals and the public as filled with cough lozenges that “act like magic.” (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research