ANDRAL S. KILMER - SWAMPROOT KING
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THE
GREAT DR. KILMER & HIS SWAMP ROOT ©1998 DIGGER ODELL PUBLICATIONS |
| Dr. Andral S. Kilmer, the inventor of
the Swamproot, set up business in Binghamton, New York in
the 1870s. There he developed a line of proprietary
medicines, pills and ointments. Born in Canada, at the
age of 17, he went to Buffalo to study medicine, where he
graduated from Buffalo Medical College. According to an
1886 medical directory, Dr. Andrel S. Kilmer later
graduated from Bennett College of Eclectic Medicine and
Surgery. He received his diploma in 1875 from that
Chicago Institution. Further medical training was
obtained in Wisconsin, where he studied botanic practices
and still more training was acquired later in New York
and Philadelphia. He returned to Binghamton and set up
practice around 1878. He set up practice and a medical
dispensary in Binghamton, New York. He was shortly
thereafter joined by his younger brother, Jonas M.
Kilmer. Together they expanded sales locally to the point
where they had to rebuild their dispensary around 1882. A
five story building was with laboratory was constructed
and fitted with the most up to date bottling equipment
available capable of filling over 2,000 bottles an hour.
The plant had everything necessary to prepare, bottle and
package the medicines. Only the corks and bottles were
not made at the plant. In 1886, Andrew, another brother, joined the firm. But it was not until, Jonas’ son Willis, returned from Cornell where he had taken courses in modern advertising that the business. Willis, a flamboyant figure with a gift for promotion, embarked upon a national advertising campaign. Back woods folks might not be able to read, write or identify the president of the United States, but they instantly recognized the visage of Andral Kilmer. His likeness, was printed on every box, pamphlet and advertising sign. Andral eventually was bought out, or pushed out by the other members of the family by 1892. He brought suit against them bitterly complaining about his being disenfranchised. |
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| Jonas died in 1924 and Willis became
president. The Kilmer medicines brought great fortune to
Willis. There were estates, an ocean going yacht, a stud
farm and all the trappings of wealthy. He became a patron
of the arts, won the Kentucky Derby, exhibited at Madison
Square Garden, introduced golf to his area of New York,
founded a newspaper and eventually left his widow a
fortune between ten a fifteen million dollars. By 1895 the company had a line of 18 different medicines: Of these the most common was the Swamp Root. The bottle of which has an embossed label area in the shape of a kidney. The embossing reads: " THE GREAT / DR. / KILMER’S / SWAMP / ROOT / KIDNEY / LIVER & . BLADDER / CURE / SPECIFIC". The bottle was made in a sample, small and large size. Only the large has the embossed kidney. Sometime after the passage of the Food and Drug Act of 1906, the word "CURE" was dropped in favor of the word, "REMEDY". Even later, the embossing was dropped but the embossed kidney panel was retained. Believe it or not one can still buy "Swamp Root" today complete with a portrait of Andral S. Kilmer. Of all the bottles that might be collected, I have always considered this bottle to typify bottle collecting. Of the millions upon millions of Swamp Root bottles made and sold thousands have survived. To own a piece of the Kilmer legacy is within the price range of any collector. Better yet is the thrill of finding one’s own piece of history. Years ago it was thrilling to unearth a Swamp Root bottle. I still recall my great pleasure and enthusiasm, when digging in a logging camp dump in Northern Michigan, of finding my first Dr. Kilmer’s Ocean Weed Heart Remedy. |
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| DR. KILMER’S
SWAMP ROOT "THE
GREAT / DR. / KILMER’S / SWAMP / ROOT / KIDNEY /
LIVER & . BLADDER / CURE / SPECIFIC // DR. KILMER
& CO. // BINGHAMTON, N.Y." |
| DR.
KILMER'S OCEAN WEED HEART REMEDY EMBOSSED "THE BLOOD / DR. KILMER'S /
OCEAN WEED / HEART / REMEDY /
|
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| DR. KILMER'S INDIAN
COUGH CURE EMBOSSING: DR. KILMER'S / INDIAN / COUGH CURE / CONSUMPTION OIL / BlNGHAMTON / N.Y. U.S.A.[on front] HEIGHT: 7 ½" COLOR:
Variant A: Same except
7¾"SB with dropped ring on neck [also without
dropped ring]. COLOR: Aqua SHAPE: Rect. LIP: SB with dropped ring on neck BIMAL. Value $25-40 $100-$150 with label, box and contents |
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According to trademark information supplied by Dr. Kilmer & Company in 1925, the Indian Oil was one of the first brands marketed. It was introduced in 1884. Although it is not known for sure, it is believed that the cure was dropped around 1912. The Indian Cough Cure came in three sizes .25 cents .50 cents and $1.00.
| DR. KILMER'S INDIAN
MEDICINE JUG Dr. Kilmer & Co. filed an application for a label "Dr. Kilmer's Indian Medicine Jug" in September of 1883. If the Kilmer company ever used this label it is not known to the author, or any persons knowledgeable about Kilmer products. It would be rather exciting to discover in a basement or attic a jug with the label shown. The actual label was only 3 inches tall. |
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DR KILMER'S FEMALE REMEDY
| EMBOSSED: "DR.
KILMER'S / FEMALE / REMEDY / BINGHAMTON, N.Y." LABEL READS: "Dr. Kilmer's
Female Remedy, The great Blood Purifier and System |
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Originally put up in paper
boxes they changed to glass bottles as shown at left. Each bottle contained 42 pink pills. |
Dr. Kilmer & Company advertised heavily in druggist catalogs.
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A article in the July 1975 issue of Bottle World Magazine mentions several
Other Kilmer's products; Dr. Kilmer's Wild Indian Female Cancer Injection, and Dr. Kilmer's Wild Indian Female Secret. No record of these could be found in any Kilmer & Co. advertising, trade cards, or pamphlets. Furthermore the patent office records show no mention of these either. It seems very likely that the two products were not manufactured by the Kilmer & Co. in Binghamton, but possibly by a competitor. Two Dr. Kilmer companies were located, that were definitely not connected with the Binghamton firm, in Indiana, the other in New York. (see trademark).
