Mrs. Dinsmore's Cough & Croup Balsam. In 1870, a 48 year old man Alfred Dinsmore and his brother-in-law, Jesse Connor, formed the partnership of Connor & Dinsmore. The partnership became recognized as “merchants of patent medicines.” In 1870 Alfred was listed as a manufacturing chemist The name they copyrighted was “Mrs. Dinsmore’s Great English Cough Balsam of Hoarhound and Anise Seed For Coughs, Colds, Shortness of Breath, Asthma, &c.” This was a product that Alfred Dinsmore had secreted from Canada in previous adventures in patent medicine purveying while working for John G. Sharp. John G. Sharp had first started advertising medicines he had imported from London for his apothecary shop; he specified Ford’s Balsam of Horehound and Powell’s Balsam of Aniseed. He blended the two stated flavors to create his own mixture. Alfred Dinsmore was hired by Sharp to peddle this concoction. When Sharp died, Alfred Dinsmore assumed ownership and production and moved back to the United States. This title was much too long for inclusion any glass bottle in the 1870s, thus the shortened name that appears on the bottle in this display.
Source: Rapoza AV, The Man Behind The Woman’s Face. Bottles and Extras, 2005: 42-46.