By His Majesty'a Royal Letters Patent. Essence of Peppermint.

PEPPERMINT AS PATENT MEDICINE WHICH WAS USED AS A CURATIVE ON THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION

JUNIPER, J[ohn]. Nottingham chemist & apothecary. By His Majesty's Royal Letters Patent. Essence of Pepper-Mint. [caption-title]. Small 4to, single leaf folded to make 4 pp., unbound, as issued. N.p., n.d. [Nottingham? ca. 1765].

First Edition. "Prepared and sold by J. Juniper, Patentee, at Nottingham, in bottles…" John Juniper (1722-1798) was a chemist and apothecary from Nottingham who later removed to Soho, London, where he died in 1798. The first Royal Patent granted for medicine was awarded in 1711, followed by; a steady stream of such awards for patent medicines throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The Royal Patent for essence of Pepperming was awarded to Juniper in 1762, and the essence continued to be sold well into the 20th century. Juniper notes that botanist John Ray was the first to identify Peppermint as a distince species in the "Supplement to his History of Plants" [1696]. The London Pharmacopoceia first mentions peppermint in 1721. When Juniper died his rights to his medicine were left to John Heath, who by 1800 was advertising himself as sole proprietor. Juniper says here that "the singular taste and smell" will ameliorate nausea and vomiting caused by abuse of wines or spirits, and cure "hysterical or hypocondriacal [sic] Depressions: in the Tremblings, Lowness of Spirits, and various nervous Weaknesses, which women of tender constitution are so often afflicted with." He promises "public utility, in proportion as can be diffused throughout the world." It was usually prescribed for stomach complaints, or for the "chills." Essence of Peppermint was one of the 28 botanical and chemical medicaments purchased in Philadelphia from Gillespy & Strong, druggists, by Israel Whalen for Meriwether Lewis, 26 May, 1803. Of all the botanical drugs bought by Whalen, only Peppermint grows in North America. The expeditions journals show that it was used at least once. After Juniper moved to London this was reprinted there. ESTC records three copies (Wellcome Institute; Countway Library; NYPL). COPAC adds NLS. Folded, affecting a few letters, and a little browned. Still, very good. See Olive Jones, Essence of Peppermint, a history of the medicine and its bottle. Historical Archaeology 15, #2 (1981): 1-57.