A Baby in Every Bottle: Lydia Pinkham, Purveyor of Patent Medicine and Sex Education

Lydia Estes Pinkham was a nineteenth century entrepreneur who sold patent medicine to women desperate for help with their medical and marital problems. Pinkham was hugely successful, not only because of the science behind her tonic but because her promotional materials gave frank and accurate advice to women seeking help with their bodies, their sex lives, and their husbands.