Traveling medicine salesman

1895

Traveling Medicine Salesman in Oklahoma – 1895

Captured in Oklahoma City around 1895, this fascinating photograph shows a classic example of a traveling medicine salesman, a familiar figure in rural America during the late 19th century. Standing beside his horse-drawn wagon labeled “Baker’s Medicines”, the salesman displays his products to a small crowd outside a farmhouse—likely offering tonics, elixirs, and "miracle cures" that promised to heal everything from rheumatism to indigestion.

These "patent medicines" were sold with flair, often accompanied by bold claims and theatrical presentations. The mobile apothecary setup—complete with printed boxes and promotional signs—was a clever fusion of entrepreneurship and showmanship in an age before widespread access to doctors or pharmacies.

A rare visual testimony of rural healthcare practices, consumer culture, and frontier ingenuity in late 19th-century America.

📍 United States, Oklahoma City — Year: 1895

🗂️ Tags: traveling salesman, patent medicine, frontier life, rural America, 1890s, Oklahoma history, medical advertising, horse-drawn wagons, apothecary, American folklore, historical photography

Got a photo of old-time commerce or life on the road? Share it on Oldpik.com and help document the spirit of a bygone era!

Envíado por OldPik el 7 de enero de 2024

Image

Traveling medicine salesman
Debes iniciar sesión para comentar las fotos.
Iniciar sesión

Sin comentarios aún, sé el primero en comentar...

Fotos cercanas

Apache Leader Geronimo with His Two Nieces

A young man drinking water from a cooler with a 'For Colored' sign

Workshop of Sanitary Ice Cream Cone.

Sylvan Goldman and the First Shopping Cart

Young Family in Oklahoma

c. 1903 OldPik

Whit Carroll and his family

A unos 3 kilómetros

Snake Oil Salesmen

A unos 3 kilómetros
c. 1902 OldPik

Geronimo.jpg

A unos 14 kilómetros

Henry and Inga Kolloen

A unos 23 kilómetros

Gold miners at work.

A unos 23 kilómetros

Chief Quanah Parker with two wives

A unos 60 kilómetros

A cowboy shows off his roping skills

A unos 61 kilómetros