PLEURTTIC M
National Museum of American History

PLEURTTIC M

Unknown artist

turnen wood (overall production method/technique)
National Museum of American History
CC0 — Public Domain
National Museum of American History

This turned wooden conical drug jar and lid has remnants of red paint and is decorated with a brown cartouche. The cartouche is painted white in the interior and is marked with a symbol for antimony and the text “PLEURITIC M.” Pleurisy root was used as an antispasmodic, diaphoretic, expectorant, and tonic. The jar contains sixty very thin wooden picks, pointed at each end. It is unlikely that the sticks were original to the jar, and their use is unknown.

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