The Shakers grew, processed, and sold dozens of botanical ingredients used in nineteenth-century medicines. Of the 64 plants recommended by Samuel Thomson, at least 60 were sold by the Shakers. Several Shaker communities also sold their own unique remedies.
In 1879, in an effort to solve financial problems, the Pleasant Hill Shakers were convinced to make and sell Aromatic Elixir of Malt by what was probably a trio of swindlers. They invested in the scheme, but sales were disappointing.
Image Courtesy of Archives of Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky
To learn more about the Shaker herb industry – see J. Worth Estes, “The Shakers and their Proprietary Medicines,” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 65, no. 2 (Summer 1991): 162-184.
Image featured in Discovering Quacks, Utopias, and Cemeteries: Modern Lessons from Historical Themes by Cynthia Resor