Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1787-1966 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2 boxes, 1 outsize item
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Catherine Kearsley and her husband were printers and booksellers in London in the late eighteenth century. They began the commercial production of Widow Welch's Female Pills, which they claimed to have as a family recipe, in 1787. There seems to have been some contention over who was manufacturing the true Widow Welch's Recipe, since the collection includes a handbill claiming that Mrs Smithers, as the granddaughter of the Widow Welch was the only person entitled to the preparation. It continued to be a popular patent medicine until the company ceased trading in the late 1960s.
Repository
Archival history
GB 0120 SA/WWP 1787-1966 Collection (fonds) 2 boxes, 1 outsize item Members of the Kearsley family and business
Catherine Kearsley and her husband were printers and booksellers in London in the late eighteenth century. They began the commercial production of Widow Welch's Female Pills, which they claimed to have as a family recipe, in 1787. There seems to have been some contention over who was manufacturing the true Widow Welch's Recipe, since the collection includes a handbill claiming that Mrs Smithers, as the granddaughter of the Widow Welch was the only person entitled to the preparation. It continued to be a popular patent medicine until the company ceased trading in the late 1960s.
Purchased from David Bluett in November 2005.
Papers relating to The Widow Welch's Pills, 1787-1966, comprising records of C and G Kearsley Limited, London, manufacturers of The Widow Welch's Pills 'justly celebrated for all female complaints'. Including family material and business records.
The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.
Photocopies/photographs/microfilm are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds, and that photographs cannot be photocopied in any circumstances. Readers are restricted to 100 photocopies in twelve months. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.
English
1 outsize item
The Wellcome Library Ephemera Collection contains an early 20th century leaflet advertising Kearsley's Widow Welch's Pills.
Compiled by Anya Turner.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
June 2008 Kearsley , Catherine , fl 1787 , printer, bookseller and remedy manufacturer Industry Manufacturing industry Social problems Quackery Systems of medicine Traditional medicine Pathology Diseases C and G Kearsley Ltd, patent medicine proprietors Female diseases
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Purchased from David Bluett in November 2005.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers relating to The Widow Welch's Pills, 1787-1966, comprising records of C and G Kearsley Limited, London, manufacturers of The Widow Welch's Pills 'justly celebrated for all female complaints'. Including family material and business records.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.
Conditions governing reproduction
Photocopies/photographs/microfilm are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds, and that photographs cannot be photocopied in any circumstances. Readers are restricted to 100 photocopies in twelve months. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
The Wellcome Library Ephemera Collection contains an early 20th century leaflet advertising Kearsley's Widow Welch's Pills.
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English