Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man's Life (Brown's Almanac 1869)

[Jersey City, NJ]: Dr. O. Phelps Brown, 1869. Printed wraps, 16mo; (1-22), 23-64pp. Lacking rear wrap, puncture to upper left corner, light toning and soil; contents complete.

Oliver Phelps Brown became a staple of domestic medicine after publishing The Complete Herbalist in 1865. The "Shakespeare Almanac" became an annual fixture in the 1870s; this appears to be the first installment. Offered for free to promote Brown's patent medicines and naturopathic philosophies ("Effect of Mind on Disease," etc.) Structured around quotes from Shakespeare and generously illustrated to promote his Acacian Balsalm, Restorative Assimilant, Renovating Pill, Herbal Ointment, Blood Purifier, Woodland Balm, and Floral Bloom. Unusual supplementary "almanac" content includes a "Half Caste" chart indicating the "proper designations" for persons of mixed race that does not appear to have survived in later editions. The "Mechanical Recipes" are also a highlight, particularly the "cheap green paint" that calls for a quarter-pound of "pulverized yellow arsenic." Very healthy. 2 copies in OCLC (AAS, Library Co. Phila.)