Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills

William Wright was the vice-president of the North American College of Health, as well as the proprietor of Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills duting the 1840's and 50's. By the 1860's he seems to have moved into private practice and left the proprietary medicine field.

Edmund Ferrett was a music publisher in Philadelphia in the 1850's, becoming an agent for Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills by the early 1860's. He ordered the Wright privte die stamp in 1862.

The Wright stamp was held up a bit by an argument over whether the word "proprietary" needed to be on it. The ruling was that it did not, and the stamp was first delivered in February of 1863. The last delivery was prior to October 1, 1880. 12,549,250 were printed on old paper, 8,106,330 on silk paper and 3,501,630 on pink and watermarked papers. The copy shown is on silk paper.


A Wright wrapper, probably printed in the 1850's when Wright maintained an office at 169 Race Street in Philadelphia but used after February, 1863. The instructions are in German.



The top of the Wright pill box that was in the wrapper. The fancy design that looks almost three-dimensional was produced by a technique called anaglyptography.


By 1866 Ferrett was active in the Wright firm, but the address on the Almanac still showed Wright as being located at the northwest cormer of Fifth and Race Streets, the location of the North American College of Health.


The business was transferred to New York in 1868, and Ferrett appears to have been in charge by the time this receipt was written.


An 1880 almanac showing the New York address. On the back there is a statement that Wright's Indian Vegetable Syrup is prepared and sold by E. Ferrett, Agent.


A trade card dating from the 1890's. It mentions Eye Balsam as well as the Indian Vegetable Pills.


A Spanish American War general issue proprietary stamp with a Wright cancel.


The design of the Wright wrappers did not change significantly from the 1850's to the 1900's except that the instructions are now in English. This one was used after the 1906 Food & Drugs Act was passed.


Part of a sheet of specimen labels mentioning the Late William Wright of the North American College of Health. Wright probably died around 1884, but it is difficult to assign a vintage year to these.


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