During the Old West years, and even into World War II, a phenomenon known as the Medicine Show was commonplace. Medicine shows were touring acts that traveled by truck, horse, or wagon teams peddling “miracle cure” patent medicines and other products between various entertainment acts. They evolved from European mountebank (swindler) shows and were popular in the United States during the nineteenth century.
Medicine shows often touted “miracle elixirs,” sometimes dismissed by real doctors as “snake oil liniment.” The peddlers and their so-called cures boasted they could heal diseases, erase wrinkles, remove stains, extend life, or remedy countless common ailments. Most of these shows featured their own “patent medicine” which were usually unpatented products given the name to sound official. To attract crowds, the shows often featured a mix of entertainments like freak shows, flea circuses, musical acts, magic tricks, jokes, and storytelling. Each was hosted by a man pretending to be a doctor, who kicked things off with a monologue to reel people in. Performers such as acrobats, strongmen, magicians, dancers, ventriloquists, exotic acts, and trick shooters kept the audience hooked until it was time for the salesman to pitch his medicine.
Showmen selling miraculous cures have existed since ancient times, and really still exist today. It seems like there is always some new “miracle cure” being peddled on television or Facebook these days. Of course, now the salesperson doesn’t have a circus act or other crazy show to catch the eye, but then they only have a 
minute or so on television, so they have to get right to it. As for the Old West, the performances became more elaborate to attract a mostly rural audience, and they had a lot more time to “grab” their audience.
In the nineteenth century, traveling mountebanks evolved into more polished medicine shows, fueled by the booming patent medicine industry. By 1858, there were at least 1,500 “patent medicines” on record, giving wandering salesmen a specific product to pitch. These so-called “medicines” rarely treated the actual causes of illness, instead relying on stimulants or drugs to create a pleasant effect. Common ingredients like alcohol, opium, and cocaine not only made them addictive but also kept customers coming back, while their supposed health benefits provided a convenient excuse. By 1900, the patent medicine business was worth $80 million. The rise of the medicine show was also boosted by the growing advertising industry, which provided cheap posters, flyers, handbills, and other promotional materials. Other marketing tactics included catchy jingles, dramatic testimonials, and scare-based messaging.
Medicine shows mixed lively entertainment with sales pitches from self-proclaimed “doctors” peddling miracle cure-alls. These events could take place outdoors from a wagon, platform, or tent, or indoors in a theater or opera house, often with free or very cheap admission. Pitchmen made bold claims about their products, sometimes even planting people in the crowd to give fake testimonials. The idea was to stir up a need or fear, then present their unique remedy as the only solution. By alternating engaging acts with persuasive sales talk, they wore down the audience’s resistance until people were eager to buy. The shows would stay in town as long as possible…anywhere from one night to six weeks…before packing up and heading to the next stop. Imagine taking that “cure” for six weeks, becoming addicted, and then the dealer is gone. Medicine shows often brought entertainment to rural communities that might not have any other sort of performances for years at a time. Whatever the quality of the medical advice, some spectators enjoyed the free entertainment.
As mass-produced pharmaceuticals became widely available in the early 20th century, home remedies lost their popularity, and medicine shows leaned more on their entertainment to draw crowds. With America becoming 
less rural and more urban, new entertainment like movies, vaudeville, and later radio pushed the traveling medicine show toward extinction. By the 1930s, only a handful of these troupes still toured, and even fewer survived the Great Depression and World War II. The few that made it into the 1950s faced competition from television and were seen as relics of a bygone era. In the end, their novelty, more than the remedies they sold, kept the last of them alive.
Leave a Reply