A Cure For, Well.........Everything!

As promised, this post will tell the story of the little amber bottle depicted in my last blog posting.  It has a fascinating story to tell. 

Valentine's Meat Juice Bottle, About 3" High

On a trip to Richmond, Virginia a few years ago, Cindy and I visited several museums and other points of interest in and around the city.  One of the sites we toured was the Valentine Museum.

The Valentines were a very prominent family in Richmond.  Perhaps the best known of this family was Edward Valentine (1838---1930).  Edward was a sculptor who is famous for his works in marble and bronze.  He designed the Robert E Lee recumbent memorial, the Stonewall Jackson memorial and the Thomas Jefferson memorial.

Edward Valentine's Marble Sculpture of Robert E Lee, Lee Chapel, Lexington, Virginia

His brother, Mann S.Valentine (1824---1892), became wealthy as a Richmond businessman by founding and managing the Valentine Meat Juice Company in Richmond.

Fits Very Nicely in the Palm of Your Hand

In 1870, an ill relative who was unable to eat caused Mann Valentine to come up with the idea of creating a meat juice product to aid in nutrition for the ill.  The idea caught on with the public; and soon, Valentine's meat juice was a popular health tonic.

Valentine's Meat Juice Was A Common Prescription

There were many testimonies from physicians touting the healing properties of the juice for practically every known ailment:  upset stomach, diarrhea, nausea, general debility and more.

It'll Cure Whatever Needs Curing

Approximately 20,000 pounds of beef flesh per day were used in the production of the juice. 

Archaelogical digs around brothels have yielded many of the bottles that were cast aside after being consumed.  Prostitutes believed that the meat juice offered protection from and a cure for sexually transmitted diseases (known as "social diseases" back in the day).

A famous murder case involved a Mrs. Maybrick, who murdered her husband by poisoning his meat juice with arsenic. 

Fits Easily in Your Pocket or Purse!

Valentine's Meat Juice Company apparently went out of business sometime late in the twentieth century.  I had a hard time getting firm information on the exact date of its demise.  Suffice to say that, as knowledge of nutrition increased throughout the last century, demand for this product weakened until the company closed its doors. 

Today, we look upon the notion of meat juice as a health potion as being backward in the extreme.  But not very long ago, Valentine's meat juice was an accepted and trusted treatment by the medical community. 

Virginia

More United States Presidents Have Come From Virginia Than Any Other State

I wrote the following poem about the U. S. state of Virginia.  This state is full of history.

I wrote This Poem in 1998, and Cindy Presented Me With a Custom Frame.  It Now Hangs in Our Den.

                       
                           Virginia

Whenever I dream in my mind of her glory,
Of her mountains that fall to the blue, rolling sea;
I see in her people a strong, noble story:
Virginia of Washington, Henry, and Lee!


The State Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  "Sic Semper Tyrannis" Means "Thus Ever to Tyrants".  John Wilkes Booth Shouted This Phrase Immediately After Shooting Abraham Lincoln.

 Old Virginia, whose hist'ry of truth and of lore
Sets a model of freedom forever to tell;
Her peace earned by statesmanship, tempered by war---
Cradling at rest the ten thousands that fell.

George Washington, The Nation's First President

Born on the brav'ry of England's proud refuse,
Weathered the winters of colonial hell;
Drove down Cornwallis with French pow'r at Yorktown,
Raising the clear tone of Liberty's bell!

Defending her homeland from union invason,
Proud patriot armies advanced to the fray;
Secession for freedom and righteous persuasion
Advanced her great legions in splendid array.

Generals Robert E. Lee (L) and Stonewall Jackson Meet Before the Battle of Chancellorsville

Armies of Jackson and Stuart with Lee,
Along Rappahannock and Potomac's deep flood,
From Richmond herself to Shenandoah's valley,
Fought ever the good fight with Gray tears and blood.

General Robert E. Lee Was Offered the Commanding Generalship of the Union Armies Before Deciding His Loyalty Lay With Virginia and the Confederacy

Lee's masterful plan to guard Old Dominion,
And Pickett at Gettysburg courage displayed;
"Remember", he said to them, "You are Virginians!",
Advanced to the High Water Mark with his raid.

The CSS Virginia (formerly the Merrimac) (L) and the USS Monitor (R) Fought to a Draw in History's First Naval Battle Between Ironclads.  The Day Before This Battle, the Virginia Sank or Scuttled Three  Wooden union Warships.

Sailing to meet the vast union blockade,
Merrimac's steel girding was put to the test;
Minnesota, Congress and Cumberland faltered,
Sunk by Virginia's great armor and blast!

The Shenandoah Valley Is One of the Most Scenic Spots on Earth.  It is Also Where General T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson Became a Legendary Figure, Defeating Several union Armies Larger Than His Own. 

Stonewall in the valley, a lesson for all;
His "foot cavalry" victorious time and again;
First Fremont, then Banks, then Butler would fall,
His brigades pressing forward through snow, ice and rain.

The cadets at New Market, and Stuart with Lee,
Strove bravely to push back the might of the foe;
At Petersburg, Fredericksburg, and all through the valley,
Proved to the world that their brav'ry was so.

The Huge Confederate Memorial Obelisk at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia

Gaze o'er the decades that tell of her story.....
Of Hollywood's resting place, Monument Row;
America sparkles because of her glory,
Her mettle and valor all nations to know.

The Jefferson Davis Memorial on Monument Row, Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Norfolk, Lexington advancing;
The Blue Ridge so stunning, the Valley I see.....
Yorktown, Charlottesville, Roanoke romancing
Virginia of Jefferson, Jackson and Lee!

(C) 1998 Clint Ellison