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PERLEY L. ABBEY: CELERY MEDICINE CO. KALAMAZOO Perley L. Abbey was born in Pigeon, Mich. on July 2 1865. In 1887 Perley started a medicine company in Kalamazoo, Mich. He called his company The Celery Medicine Company. He would change the name of the company in 1897 to the P. L. Abbey Company. The company was involved in a large scale manufacturing of four patent medicines all containing celery. The four patent medicines were Kalamazoo Celery Nerve and Blood Tonic, Celery and Sarsaparilla Compound, Celerine Compound, Celery Pepsin Bitters. Below is a photo on one of his bottles embossed THE P. L. ABBEY CO. / KALAMAZOO, MICH. This bottle is square in shape and is 8 7/8 tall. Here's a little about celery and Kalamazoo, Michigan. By the end of the nineteenth century Kalamazoo County in Michigan had over 400 farms growing celery on 4000 acres which made Kalamazoo the world's largest celery producer. Celery was everywhere. Entrepreneurs manufactured celery soaked breakfast cereal, celery and pepsin chewing gum, celery tar soap, celery pickles and a product called celery tone. At the turn of the century it was thought that it had aphrodisiac and nerve soothing properties which made it the central ingredient for medicines for nervous disorders. Below is a post card of a celery field.
References: Pharmacy in History, Kalamazoo celery patent medicines by Anthony Palmitri III 1997. History of Kalamazoo. Frank & Frank Jr. (Wicker) Bottle Collection. |
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