DR. HERDAN AND HIS PACIFIC SELF
HELPER COMPANY
Born in Bucharest, Romania about 1864, Moscu
I. Herdan came to the United States sometime between
1884 and 1890. His early years in the U.S. are a little sketchy. The 1890
voting register for Chicago, Illinois,
notes he had lived in Chicago for one year but
lived in Illinois
for four years. It states his naturalization occurred in Kansa City,
in 1884. He claimed he had medical degrees from several schools, none of which
were verified. Dr. Herdan had dreams about making it big in the medical world
and tried several ideas. None seemed to have worked. The bottle he had produced
is tangible evidence of unfortunate circumstances that kept Dr. Herdan from
achieving success.
Dr. Herdan’s first
advertisement was located in Atchison, Kansas.
It set the stage for his future advertising style where he generally worked
from his hotel ‘residence’. He often stated that he was in residence
permanently, which was usually not very long. Herdan also openly stated that he
preferred women and children patients. (The Atchison Daily Champion, Atchison, Kansas, July 12, 1890)
By December 1890 Herdan had moved from Atchison, west to Salt Lake City, and set up shop in the
St. James Hotel, advertising “Diseases of Women a Specialty” (Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah,
December 26, 1890)
Suicide is generally considered an act of desperation to
avoid continued mental or physical pain. It was on January 10, 1891, in his
room at the St. James
Hotel in Salt
Lake City, that Herdan attempted to kill himself. He left Salt Lake
the following Tuesday, knowing his act would have ruined his
reputation as a trusted physician. “At
the depot, before the train pulled out, he amused the bystanders with a speech,
in which he paid his compliments to the city and its people and said that he
would never visit the place again”
(The Salt Lake Tribune, (Salt
Lake City, Utah) January 15, 1891, Page 8)
Cabinet card of Dr. Herdan
with his signature top hat, taken circa 1892.
Photo taken in Austin,
Nevada. Sunbeam Photo Gallery, L.
A. Weller, Operator. (Picture courtesy Mildred Morris at Berman-Morris/Pressly/Williams/Mount
Family Tree at FindAGrave.com.)
He may have gone back to Chicago for a short while, as he had a
brother located there, as well as a woman that he wanted for his wife. By the
end of January, Herdan had located his residence and business in Reno, Nevada,
living at and working from the Inverness Hotel. (Nevada State Journal, January 27, 1891) In March 1891 Herdan added Carson
City to his consultation circuit, working out of the Arlington
Hotel, in Carson,
on Mondays. (The Daily Appeal, Carson
City, Nevada, March 12, 1891)
Dr. Herdan began working the cities of Reno,
Carson and Virginia City
with his main residency dictated by demand, and this changed a number of times.
This circuit, with which Herdan maintained he was not a traveling physician,
divided his time into what must have been a very difficult schedule. All the
while he advertised almost daily in the local newspapers, which would have been
a significant part of his budget. Occasionally, Herdan would even ply new
ground in the vicinity as noted by a one-day visit at the Union Hotel in Verdi, Nevada.
(Nevada State Journal, July 22, 1891)
The first mention of Herdan’s connection with his patent
medicine venture was in Reno,
when the newspaper noted, “Dr. Herdan has
applied for a patent on a medicine invented by himself called “Self Helper” for
private diseases, which he claims is the greatest medicine yet produced. He has refused $2,500 for it, but will form a
company and place it on sale in every drug store in the United States” (Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada 14
Apr 1891, Tue, Page 2) It is not clear if he actively began production for his
“Ladies Star” at this time, but he probably did not. Newspaper advertisements
did not occur for another six months.
By December 1891 he claimed a new ‘permanent’
residence in Winnemucca, Nevada. Aside from seeing patients from his
room at the Winnemucca Hotel, Herdan had
an additional idea for this city. In the following January, he proclaimed his
intention to open a sanitarium for drunkenness, based on the new gold-chloride
treatment recently practiced by Dr. Keeley of Dwight, Illinois. It was
appropriately named The Nevada Sanitarium for the Cure of Drunkenness. Little
is known of the establishment which was actually located in the Silver State
Hall.
Herdan was apparently
quite taken by the Keeley cure process and decided to use the concept for his
new sanitarium in Winnemucca. It was a novel idea and most Nevada towns had no shortage of individuals
who imbibed in too much alcohol. Whether the residents wanted to quit alcohol
use is another issue. (The Silver State,
Winnemucca, Nevada, January 6, 1892, pg 3)
The sanitarium was a
failure, and owing back rent, Herdan left town on May 9, 1892, and headed south for Austin, Nevada. (Advertisement from The Silver State, Winnemucca, Nevada, March 17, 1892)
On November 19, 1892 The Self Helper Company was organized
in Austin under the corporate laws of Nevada. Along with
Herdan were two other directors, David S. Truman and Osmer B. Vincent. Truman
was a practicing lawyer and continued in that capacity. It is likely that he
obtained the corporate papers for the new Pacific Self-Helper Co. Truman worked
as a lawyer for the remainder of his career, mostly in Nevada, until his mysterious disappearance
in 1910. He was never heard from or located after that date. (The San Francisco Call, February 3,
1910)
The primary objective of this new corporation was to, “purchase of Dr. M. Herdan and his co-owners,
a certain patent for the right to manufacture exclusively those medicines made
by them and for which a patent has been applied for from the Hon. Commissioner
of Patents of the United States of America, by said Dr. M. Herdan, and which
said medicines are known as and called Dr. Herdan’s SELF HELPER and Dr.
Herdan’s LADIES STAR and also any trade marks he may obtain therefore.” The capital stock of the corporation was
$500,000, with $342,500 being paid up at the company’s inception. The paid-up
amount appears quite large and is difficult to believe. This amount was
probably inflated or may not represent actual cash.
The partners soon decided to move their laboratory and
bottling facilities to San Francisco,
where supplies were more readably available. Herdan remained in Austin where he continued
his practice as a physician. Osmer B.
Vincent became the agent in San
Francisco. He was a telegrapher by trade and was
probably a great asset to this new company in relaying information about the
Pacific Self Helper Co. to various newspapers. Truman’s role was probably just
as an investor along with dealing with legal issues as they may arise.
Meanwhile, Herdan became frustrated with his inability to
successfully operate as a physician in Austin.
He openly expressed his feelings in the local newspaper by stating . . . “the
inhabitants are very sociable, but don’t get sick often enough, which healthful
condition he attributes to the lack of bad whisky and gossip”. (The Daily Appeal (Carson City, Nevada)
December 10, 1892, p 3)
Six inches in height,
the bottle is produced with clear glass and is well made. It could be the product
of any established glass works of the period. Embossed on the front panel is,
LADIES (Star of David) STAR. On the right panel is PACIFIC. On the left side
is, SELF HELPER CO.
The other side of the
bottle showing the embossing. The remaining large bottle face is devoid of
lettering, probably reserved for a label.
The advertisement for Ladies Star was printed throughout the West during 1892 and 1893 (The Central Nevadan, (Battle Mountain, Nevada) December 8, 1892, Page 2)
Herdan left Austin
in January 1893, but the day prior to leaving he sold a block of his shares in
the Self Helper Company, and that night he lost $220 at faro. (The Silver State, (Winnemucca, Nevada),
January 31, 1893, p 3) Gambling was one of his weaknesses.
Herdan finally convinced his love interest, Mollie Abraham,
to marry him. They tied the not in Chicago
on February 20, 1893. After returning to Austin their relationship became
strained and Mollie decided to leave him and she went back to Chicago
– and Herdan stayed in Austin.
“ The Reveille says: Dr. Herdan has
returned to Austin.
He had partially raised money enough to take him back to Chicago but blew it in a game of stud poker Saturday night, and from present
indications, he will spend the summer in Austin. His sleek plug (slang for top hat) sits at
the same angle, however, say 45 degrees, as formerly, and his shirt front is as
immaculate as ever. He still persists in
trying to run a lot of business in Austin,
including this office, but we take pleasure in announcing that he is “not in
it.” (The Silver State,
Unionville, Nevada, April 14, 1893, p 3) This is a clear indication that Herdan
worked newspapers to the best of his ability.
Herdan left Austin, Nevada, on April 19, 1893, and it was thought he was
going to Lovelock, but he went to Grand
Junction, Colorado
instead. After his arrival there, the local paper noted, “Dr. M.I. Herdan, the new physician and surgeon, has removed to his
headquarters over Haskell’s drug store, The Dr. comes very highly recommended,
and came here to reside permanently. He
is a graduate of the Imperial Hospital of Austria,
and post graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago,
and is, also an active member of the World’s Fair congress of physicians and
surgeons, which meets in Chicago
next month. The Dr. is a scholar and
collaborator of medical periodicals, and very often his pen in materia medica
and scientific points appears in the newspapers.” (Grand Junction News, April 29, 1893) In his usual manner, likely motivated by poor
success, Herdan left Grand Junction
on July 22, 1893. His next location was probably Chicago for several months, however; the
record is silent. His next try at success was in Richmond, Indiana,
where his sister-in-law was living. The local paper noted, “ Dr. M.I. Herdan, a physician from California,
is in the city and will locate here. . . he is a graduate of a European college
and of the Chicago
Medical college.” (The Richmond Item,
Richmond, Indiana, November 4, 1893)
Herdan operated for about a month in Richmond. By the end of December 1893, he
made his final act from which there was no return. Dr. Moscu I. Herdan took his
own life while staying at the Palmer House in Chicago.
The newspapers quickly picked up on the story of Herdan’s
suicide, with none more complete than the Inter-Ocean of Chicago:
“MADE SURE OF DEATH –
Dr. Moses I. Herdan Found Dead in the Palmer House – HE WAS TIRED OF LIVING. –
Thought the World Unappreciative of His Talents.”
“The chambermaids have
tried to get into No. 443 several times today.
The door was always locked, with the key on the inside. No one answers to their knocks.”
“This was the report
made by a Palmer House bellboy to Clerk Cunningham last evening.”
“Mr. Cunningham
glanced at the rack before him and saw that “Moses I. Herdan, M.D., City” was
posted up as the occupant of room No. 443.
Mr. Cunningham went to the room, a bellboy was lifted up to the transom,
and said that there was a dead man lying on the bed. The boy clambered into the room through the
transom and opened the door. Dr. Evans,
the house physician, was called and led the way into the room.”
“Dr. Herdan had been
dead some hours. He lay propped up on a
pillow, his shoes off and vest and collar unbuttoned. An empty glass and a syringe lay on the
dresser with a phial containing about ten grains of morphine.”
“If the phial was
full,” said Dr. Evans, “he injected about fifty grains of morphine into his
body.”
“Dr. Herdan arrived at
the hotel at 6 o’clock Thursday night.
He left his trunk check with Clerk Cunningham and said he expected his
wife to arrive in the morning. He never
left the room after taking possession.
He probably spent the night writing letters, for his bed had not been
occupied, except when he administered the injection. On the top of the dresser was a pile of
burned paper. On the table lay several
letters, an express company’s receipt, a meerschaum pipe, a bag of tobacco, six
cigars, and his gold watch.”
“In a letter addressed
to the Coroner the suicide said:
Deliver my body to the
A. O. U. W. brothers of this city. I
don’t want to be buried before three days.
The cause of my
suicide is I don’t think life worth living.
Inform my brother at
No. 354 May street; also my father-in-law, at No 1826 Bishop street.”
“I don’t think it is
necessary to hold a postmortem examination. Yours respectfully.
DR. HERDAN”
“In a letter addressed
‘To my wife,” he said:
God bless you. As God is my witness I have loved you
truly. Please forgive me for this act. I
think you will be happy without me. I
hope you will forgive me for this wrong act.
So marry again and be happy. I
know I love you and you alone. Your
husband, MOSES”
“Another letter was
addressed to The INTER OCEAN. – Will you be kind and wire through the Asoc
Press to Austin, Nev., to Mr. Louis A. Veller to my last
act. I took this mean. I know I was a
reader of your Paper many thousand miles from here.”
“The cause of my act
is I have enough of earthly misery; I had good success always in my profession
but I heat (sic) to practice. A Doctor and a Dog is alike., people don’t
appreciate the value of a good Physician.
So I think to finish tonight I love my wife and poor woman, I leave her
in the biggest misery. O God have mercy
with her, and to think she is in a delicate position, but I can’t resist from
doing which makes me Dey (sic) twice I trust in God and leave her in his
care. Thanking you for your kindness in
executing my last wish.
Yours Respectfully,
M. I.
Herdan, M.D.”
“His last letter was
probably written to his brother, Abraham Herdan, for he says:
My head aches me and I
fee awful mean. Please don’t write hom
to our parents my last act. God bless little Molly. Your brother,
Moses”
“The body was removed
to the morgue at No. 73 Fifth
avenue, and in accordance with the wish of Dr.
Herdan, Louis A. Veller, of Austin,
Nev., was notified of the
suicide.”
“The brother of the
dead man, Abraham Herdan, who is a clerk in a retail clothing store and lives
at No. 354 May street, was overcome with grief when told what had occurred at
the Palmer House. He went at once to
Sigmund’s morgue and identified the body as that of his brother. As he did so tears streamed down his face, and
it was with difficulty that he could be made to leave the place of death.”
“My brother’s name,”
he said, “was Moskou I. Herdan.
He was born in Bucharest,
Roumania, and was 27 years old. He
studied medicine in Roumania and came to this country four years ago and
engaged in the practice of his profession.
A year or so ago he came to Chicago,
where he met the daughter of Meyer Abraham, of No. 1826 Bishop street. They were married and went to Austin, Nevada
to live. They never got on well
together. Although there was never
anything of a very serious nature between them.
A few weeks ago my brother returned from Nevada.
He had patented several medicines which promised to sell well, but he
was tricked out of the patents by some designing persons.”
“He returned yesterday
from a visit to his sister-in-law, Mrs, Morris Rice, at Richmond, Ind.,
where he had gone with his wife. She was
not with him, and he said nothing about her.
Thursday afternoon he left the house, in good spirits seemingly. We told
him to be sure and return and he replied that he would certainly do so. When he did not come back we supposed he had
gone to visit his father-in-law, Meyer Abraham.. The only reason I can assign
for the act of my brother is that he had become despondent over the loss of his
patents and because he was out of funds.”
“Herdan’s parents live
in Roumania, and are well to do, his father being a retired farmer. Another
brother lives in New York.
He has been notified. The inquest will
be held this morning.” (The Inter-Ocean, Chicago, Illinois, December 30, 1893)
As the story of his death worked its way across the country
newspaper accounts became even more bazaar, with the most outlandish being
Herdan’s promotion of ingesting human fat to treat obesity. Many articles
include his odd behavior, including his verified proclivity for gambling and his
periodic use of drugs, which are probably true. Herdan did appear to have an
unusual personality, and struggled with proving his legitimacy as a licensed
doctor.
The news of Herdan’s suicide made headlines
across the country, but perhaps the most sensible information about the man was
found in the Grand Junction,
Colorado, paper – the last place
Herdan practiced medicine in the West. It paints a picture of a unique
individual who carried deep-seated troubles. This should be expected based on
his unusual actions over the previous several years. (The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction,
Colorado, December 30, 1893, p. 4)
Herdan is buried in Waldheim
Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois.
His wife, Mollie W. Abraham, was born abt 1872 in New York. She died May 31, 1944, in Los Angeles County, California, and is buried in the Home of Peace Memorial
Park, East Los Angeles, California, near her mother and sister.
**********************************************************************************
Post Script
After assembling a draft of the information noted above, I
went back over some of the roughly 35 news articles that I pulled from various
newspapers relating to Herdan. In doing so I stumbled across one that I had
saved which initially didn’t appear to have much importance. Like a number of
others it simply dealt with Herdan helping a sick or injured person, of which
there are many in newspapers. After compiling a brief story of Herdan’s
life, and reading the article appended below, I was gobstruck! Something about
it was eerily familiar with the life of Herdan. The article, in fact, was the
same story that unfolded in the life of Herdan himself, but was written some
six months prior to his suicide. The article, which was presented to the
newspaper by Herdan, tells of a man who attempted suicide, and it happened to
be for the same circumstances that induced Herdan to take his own life. This
cannot be a coincidence. Of course, in the article the man was saved by Herdan,
or else there would be a body to deal with, which would ruin his idea of
concocting it. The article was sort of a “dry run” of what was to come.
The strange news article that appeared some six months prior to Herdan's death, with fictional contents that were to become a reality for Dr. Herdan. (Grand Junction News, (Grand Junction,
Colorado) June 24,1893, Page 5)
Also of significance is that no patent was approved for
Herdan during his lifetime. If he did apply it was not approved. However; it is
more likely that he tricked his partners into believing he held a patent for
the medicine. Further, no trademark was found as well. His newspaper
advertisements, which included his trademark, would have still been valid, but
it just wasn’t secured by either the state of Nevada or the federal government. My
assessment of Herdan is that he was operating on a healthy diet of delusion along
with a mix of quackery. He may have meant well but crossed the line of cultural
mores and ethical boundaries of society.
All advertisements for Ladies Star and the Pacific Self
Helper Co. came to an abrupt end with the death of Dr. Herdan.
