Dr. Tichenor’s Bottle Label
Still sold today, the sharp New Orleans tonic has its roots in the Civil War.
Dr. George Humphrey Tichenor was a Confederate surgeon during the Civil War. In 1863 his leg was wounded in battle, and for fear of an infection setting in, army doctors wanted to amputate. Tichenor refused, insisting the wound be treated with an antiseptic he had formulated years earlier.
Composed mostly of alcohol, with some peppermint oil and arnica, the formula healed the wound and saved Tichenor’s leg, allowing him to revolutionize medical treatments and subsequent surgeries during the war. By 1905, the Dr. G. H. Tichenor Antiseptic Co. was founded in New Orleans. The bottled antiseptic is still sold in drugstores to treat ailments ranging from cuts to sore throats.
View in the Catalog
Learn more about this item and the rest of our collection of historic labels in our online catalog.
By Elizabeth Ogden, docent and project specialist
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