Here is what it would have looked like unopened, its dated around 1853-1870
Basically a laxative and there was a real feeling in medicine at this time that a laxative served to help expel all kinds of sickness,
pill’s are sugar coated and ingredients included:
jalap (a laxative known to be unsafe that will strip you off your potassium levels, source https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-288/jalap)
ginger —would have helped with nausea
aloes
gamboge (another laxative considered possibly unsafe by todays standards, see https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-666/gamboge)
podophyllin –now recognised as an anti viral but can operate as a laxative
peppermint oil
spearmint oil
source
https://www.si.edu/object/ayers-cathartic-pills%3Anmah_715815
…assuming you weren’t taking enough to accidentally overdose, or seriously irritate your intestine, the pills might have had positive effects as an early food supplement. A study analyzed a package of Ayer’s Pills from the collections of the Henry Ford Museum using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Their analysis found the pills actually contained small amounts of elements necessary to the human diet: Iron, sulfur, potassium, calcium, copper, and zinc.
source
https://becker.wustl.edu/news/patent-medicines-part-two-ayer-ready-for-this/
Ayers Lowell pill bottle c.1853-1870 https://www.cliffhoyt.com/jcayer.htm
images of bottle:
Images of artwork:
https://allthingsruffnerian.blogspot.com/2012/11/j-c-ayers-famous-cure-all.html
ayers bottle
pill ingredients:
jalap
ginger
aloes
gamboge
podophyllin
oil peppermint
oil spearmint
source
https://www.si.edu/object/ayers-cathartic-pills%3Anmah_715815
what is jalap:
Jalap is a type of laxative called a stimulant laxative. Jalap is UNSAFE. It has powerful effects on the bowel that might cause irritation of the digestive tract, including diarrhea, vomiting, and a loss of important chemicals such as potassium. ..web md. https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-288/jalap
what is gamboge:
Gamboge is a gum-like substance (resin)
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-666/gamboge
considered possibly unsafe, stimulant laxative.
james cook ayer. https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/james-cook-ayer-sarsaparilla-king-lowell-mass/
podophyllin – an anti viral but can be a laxative
POISONED. BY PODOPHYLLIN. (1906, August 4). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 19. Retrieved March 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9659075
Up until the end of the century, both physicians and the general public believed that all diseases were the result of a single issue: an imbalance in the body between input and output, or “nutriments and excrements.” People believed that the way to restore balance, and one’s health, was by regulating secretions such as blood, sweat, urine and feces.
At a time when there were few diagnostic tools available beyond the senses, it makes sense that laypeople and doctors alike placed such importance on what went into the body and what came out. Phenomena like perspiration, pulse, menstruation, blisters, urination and defecation provided clues to what might be happening inside the otherwise inscrutable body. In this context, a drug that provided observable results, such as episodes of extreme excretion, was seen as effective.
….The answer is actually a little more complicated than you might think. While Ayer’s Pills certainly would not have cured neuralgia or numbness, they might have helped with nausea. Two of the drug’s ingredients, ginger and peppermint oil, have been found to help with nausea and flatulence. Whether or not you could have gotten a big enough dose of either ingredient without being poisoned by the colocynth (or dying from the podophyllin and gamboge…) is an open question.
That being said, assuming you weren’t taking enough to accidentally overdose, or seriously irritate your intestine, the pills might have had positive effects as an early food supplement. A study analyzed a package of Ayer’s Pills from the collections of the Henry Ford Museum using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Their analysis found the pills actually contained small amounts of elements necessary to the human diet: Iron, sulfur, potassium, calcium, copper, and zinc.
Patent medicines part two: “Ayer” ready for this?
By Sarah Bush — September 19, 2022. Bernard Becker Medical Library
source: https://becker.wustl.edu/news/patent-medicines-part-two-ayer-ready-for-this/
—-
(1880). The bulletin Retrieved March 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-490964942
i found this.>>
Advertising (1893, February 18). Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved March 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221779569
Advertising (1873, December 20). Advocate (Melbourne, Vic. : 1868 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved March 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article170301156
kk https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/lot-of-3-ayers-cathartic-pills-bottles-1126-c-0fe4d1988c
jj https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1336456
Family Notices (1865, August 25). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 8. Retrieved March 12, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155042500
Advertising (1864, May 12). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved March 12, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article247586640
https://akwx.drugdays.shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23404
https://www.ebay.com/itm/375963556192
jj https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZT18950412.2.17.3
jj https://allthingsruffnerian.blogspot.com/2012/11/j-c-ayers-famous-cure-all.html
CLEAR GLASS CHEMISTS BOTTLE SMALL LOWELL AYERS PILLS
inser pic here. it’s a very thin type of glass.
and very similar, intact version online
and here’s a print ad
Advertising (1885, March 7). The Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 – 1934), p. 23. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article181524794
burrows & co 