{"id":71213,"date":"2014-05-13T19:58:29","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T23:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=71213"},"modified":"2014-05-14T00:11:23","modified_gmt":"2014-05-14T04:11:23","slug":"for-man-and-beast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/05\/13\/for-man-and-beast\/","title":{"rendered":"For Man and Beast"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><script>\/* <![CDATA[ *\/ portfolio_slideshow.slideshows[787] = {\"timeout\":\"4000\",\"autoplay\":\"false\",\"trans\":\"fade\",\"loop\":\"true\",\"speed\":\"400\",\"nowrap\":\"true\"}; \/* ]]> *\/<\/script><div id=\"slideshow-wrapper787\" class=\"slideshow-wrapper clearfix portfolio-slideshow-centered\">\n<div id=\"slideshow-nav787\" class=\"slideshow-nav\">\n\t<a class=\"pause\" style=\"display:none\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\">Pause<\/a>\n\t<a class=\"play\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\">Play<\/a>\n\t<a class=\"restart\" 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not-first\">\n\t\t<a class=\"slideshow-next\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"psp-active\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/gargle-oil.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"313\" width=\"600\" alt=\"Slide 2\"><\/a>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-next slideshow-content not-first\">\n\t\t<a class=\"slideshow-next\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"psp-active\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/gargle.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"640\" width=\"383\" alt=\"Slide 3\"><\/a>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-next slideshow-content not-first\">\n\t\t<a class=\"slideshow-next\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"psp-active\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/gargle1.png\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"422\" width=\"600\" alt=\"Slide 4\"><\/a>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-next slideshow-content not-first\">\n\t\t<a class=\"slideshow-next\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"psp-active\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/gargleoil.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"367\" width=\"500\" alt=\"Slide 5\"><\/a>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-next slideshow-content not-first\">\n\t\t<a class=\"slideshow-next\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"psp-active\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/gargling_oil_almanac.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"650\" width=\"412\" alt=\"Slide 6\"><\/a>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-next slideshow-content not-first\">\n\t\t<a class=\"slideshow-next\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"psp-active\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/horse-merchant-oil.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"786\" width=\"600\" alt=\"Slide 7\"><\/a>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-next slideshow-content not-first\">\n\t\t<a class=\"slideshow-next\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"psp-active\" 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data-img=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/tc.merchants.songster.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"886\" width=\"576\" alt=\"Slide 12\"><\/a>\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"slideshow-meta\">\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slideshow-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slideshow-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/div><\/div><!--#slideshow-wrapper--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Internet will lead a traveler down strange byways. I no longer remember where I started, but here I stand, at the end of a circuitous and occasionally treacherous path, suddenly full of facts about Merchant\u2019s Gargling Oil. Let\u2019s not linger on how I got here. I\u2019m as confused as you are.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Merchant\u2019s Gargling Oil is \u201ca Liniment for Man and Beast,\u201d a catch-all salve first produced by George W. Merchant, a druggist, in 1833. Who can guess what compelled Merchant to whip up that first batch of petroleum, soap, ammonia water, oil of amber, iodine tincture, benzine, and water? Who still can say what frame of mind found him slathering this unguent on his skin? And who, at last, will stand up and tell me why Merchant saw fit to market his concoction as \u201cGargling Oil\u201d even though he intended it primarily for external use?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">These mysteries belong to the ages. More certainly, we can say that Merchant\u2019s Gargling Oil was intended to treat burns, scalds, rheumatism, flesh wounds, sprains, bruises, lame back, hemorrhoids or piles, toothache, sore throat, chilblains, and chapped hands; that the Merchant business was successful enough to produce a promotional line of almanacs, songbooks (\u201csongsters\u201d), and stamps; and that horses were evidently crazy for the stuff. Beyond that, this Gargling Oil is awash in contradictions. For instance, despite its external uses, you could, if you wanted to, take it internally: <!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Merchant\u2019s Gargling Oil is a diffusible stimulant and carminative. It can be taken internally when such a remedy is indicated, and is a good substitute for pain killers, cordials and anodynes. For Cramps or Spasms of the Stomach, Colic, Asthma, or Internal Pain, the dose may be from fifteen to twenty drops, on sugar, or mixed with syrup in any convenient form, and repeated at intervals of three to six hours.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Though it was marketed as suitable \u201cfor Man and Beast,\u201d it was sold in two separate versions\u2014yellow for animals, white for people. But if a man found himself under particular duress, he could simply go ahead and use the beast version. \u201cIt will stain and discolor the skin, but not permanently,\u201d the packaging noted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Gargling Oil could be found on shelves, along with other fine Merchant\u2019s products, until 1928, when the Merchant factory in Lockport, New York, caught fire and burned to the ground. Today Merchant leaves behind a formidable body of advertisements and miscellanea, many of which bear this curious slogan, attributed to an ape:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If I am Darwin\u2019s grandpapa,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">It follows don\u2019t you see,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">That what is good for man and beast,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Is doubly good for me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I don\u2019t see how this follows. But then, I don\u2019t even recall how I got here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Internet will lead a traveler down strange byways. I no longer remember where I started, but here I stand, at the end of a circuitous and occasionally treacherous path, suddenly full of facts about Merchant\u2019s Gargling Oil. Let\u2019s not linger on how I got here. I\u2019m as confused as you are. Merchant\u2019s Gargling Oil [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2384],"tags":[13902,862,13901,13900,12985,13903,11846],"class_list":["post-71213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-look","tag-darwin","tag-drugs","tag-lockport","tag-merchants-gargling-oil","tag-nineteenth-century","tag-pharmaceuticals","tag-quackery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.4 (Yoast SEO v25.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What\u2014and Why\u2014Is Merchant\u2019s Gargling Oil?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"May 13, 2014 \u2013 The Internet will lead a traveler down strange byways. 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