Elite Tonsorial Parlors

Here are some advertisements of the late 19th century, as portrayed in the June 1898 Semi-Centennial edition of the Menasha Press, commemorating Wisconsin's 50th year of statehood, Menasha's 50th year of settlement, and the Press' own 35th anniversary. 


Patent medicines of the era were obsessed with dyspepsia, or indigestion and I'd wager that Dr. Russell's cure, as seen above, would have made a great cocktail or two, as alcohol was often the chief ingredient.  If your problem didn't go away, you likely wouldn't care after imbibing enough of the stuff!  And to the uninitiated, tonsorial is an old-timey word which refers to barbers and barbering.