The first mention I can find of Dr. Mintie is this advertisement for his product Nephreticum in the Sacramento Daily Union 1878
Dr. Minties Nephreticum San Francisco
lignum nephriticum (Latin for "kidney wood") was a traditional diuretic derived from the wood of two tree species, the narra (Pterocarpus indicus) and the Mexican kidneywood (Eysenhardtia polystacha). The wood was capable of turning the color of water it comes in contact with into beautiful opalescent hues that changed depending on light and angle, the earliest known record of the phenomenon of fluorescence. Due to this strange property, it became well known in Europe from the 16th to the early 18th-century Europe. Cups made from lignum nephriticum were given as gifts to royalty. Water drunk from such cups, as well as imported powders and extracts from lignum nephriticum, were thought to have great medicinal properties.
The Nephreticum was, more than likely, playing second fiddle to the Great English Remedy in the above advertisement
Dr. Mintie was arrested for distribution of handbills on the streets of San Francisco (now a days you can walk naked on the streets of San Francisco and not get arrested)
Sometime in the 1890's Dr. Mintie moved to Los Angeles
this ad is from the 1896 L.A. Herald
Dr. Mintie had been practicing medicine for over five years with out a license
The Dr. Minties Nephreticum bottle
The Dr. Minties Nephreticum bottle comes with both an applied and tooled top and was more than likely produced from the 1870's and into the 1880's.
Rick; Really enjoyed the post, and learned a bunch. The Minties Nephreticum has always intrigued me, as I had no idea what it was, or what it was supposed to "cure". Thanks for the research, documentation, and the post.
ReplyDeleteBruce
Great post Rick, Have always liked the Mintie's and the history behind this quack...Interesting they are always a bluisg to greenish aqua, and I have never seen a deep colored or true green.
ReplyDelete"Bluish"...geeez.
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