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Congress Bitters Trade Card

Trade card with a print of the Capitol and text reading, “Congress Bitters. The Great American Tonic”/tiles/collection/2/20555.xml
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Reverse of trade card, with an image of the Capitol and text reading, “Congress Bitters. A Healthy Appetizer. Trade Mark. A Safe Invigorant. The Great American Tonic! These Bitters excel all others in point of real merit, and their fine bitter orange flavor makes them as pleasant as they are useful. They are a reliable remedy for Dyspepsia, Indigestion, Constipation, Ague, and diseases of the Stomach, Bowels, Liver, and Kidneys. They purify and enrich the blood, tone and impart strength to the system, stimulate the digestion, regulate the bowels, promote a healthy appetite, dispel nervous exhaustion, cure general debility, give buoyancy to the spirits, and are especially recommended as a true tonic and restorer for Invalids, Females and delicate persons. They will be found extremely beneficial in regulating the various functions of the body, and a reliable antidote and preventative for chills and Fever and all Malarial Diseases. Congress Bitters are not an intoxicating beverage, nor can they be used as such by reason of their cathartic properties, and being purely vegetable, they are classed strictly as a medical agent, and can be given at all times with beneficial results. When taken after meals, they aid digestion; when taken before meals, they produce a healthy appetite, and as a morning tonic they have a charming effect. In cases of Dipsomania, or for persons having an unnatural desire for liquor, they will be found peculiarly suitable, as the use of these bitters will enable them to free themselves of the pernicious habit, by acquiring a strong and healthy appetite for solid food. A trial of them will be sufficient to prove that they are all that is claimed for them. Price $1.00 per bottle. Sold by all Druggists and Medicine Dealers. -For Sale By- G. T. METZGER, Druggist, Upperville, Va.”/tiles/collection/2/22715.xml
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Trade card with a print of the Capitol and text reading, “Congress Bitters. The Great American Tonic”
Reverse of trade card, with an image of the Capitol and text reading, “Congress Bitters. A Healthy Appetizer. Trade Mark. A Safe Invigorant. The Great American Tonic! These Bitters excel all others in point of real merit, and their fine bitter orange flavor makes them as pleasant as they are useful. They are a reliable remedy for Dyspepsia, Indigestion, Constipation, Ague, and diseases of the Stomach, Bowels, Liver, and Kidneys. They purify and enrich the blood, tone and impart strength to the system, stimulate the digestion, regulate the bowels, promote a healthy appetite, dispel nervous exhaustion, cure general debility, give buoyancy to the spirits, and are especially recommended as a true tonic and restorer for Invalids, Females and delicate persons. They will be found extremely beneficial in regulating the various functions of the body, and a reliable antidote and preventative for chills and Fever and all Malarial Diseases. Congress Bitters are not an intoxicating beverage, nor can they be used as such by reason of their cathartic properties, and being purely vegetable, they are classed strictly as a medical agent, and can be given at all times with beneficial results. When taken after meals, they aid digestion; when taken before meals, they produce a healthy appetite, and as a morning tonic they have a charming effect. In cases of Dipsomania, or for persons having an unnatural desire for liquor, they will be found peculiarly suitable, as the use of these bitters will enable them to free themselves of the pernicious habit, by acquiring a strong and healthy appetite for solid food. A trial of them will be sufficient to prove that they are all that is claimed for them. Price $1.00 per bottle. Sold by all Druggists and Medicine Dealers. -For Sale By- G. T. METZGER, Druggist, Upperville, Va.”
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Date

ca. 1895

Publisher

Schumacher & Ettlinger

Dimensions

3 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (8.3 × 11.4 cm)

Accession Number

2007.122.000

Credit Line

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

Object Details

The Capitol has been used to advertise goods as varied as plumbing fixtures and life insurance. It is unknown why William Allen named his invigorating tonic for the legislative branch, but he used the tagline “The Great American Tonic” and an image of the Capitol to associate it with the institution. The bitters themselves were part of a long tradition of medicinal drinks that contained herbs and, by the late 19th century, a strong dose of alcohol. One 1916 report on such concoctions described Congress Bitters as “sugar and alcohol . . . A fraud of the worst type.”

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