Clark Stanley: Difference between revisions
→References: replace cat history of texas with cat People from Abilene, Texas |
m removed deadlink reference |
||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
||
*[http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:UTVYH7xdAb4J:cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D200099763436+%22 from Google cache of the eBay sale of Stanley's booklet ''Something Interesting to Read'', Worcester, MA, Messenger Printing Co. ''ca.''1905] retrieved 2007-05-31 |
|||
*[http://www.ereader.com/product/book/excerpt/25045?book=unSpun:_Finding_Facts_in_a_World_of_Disinformation UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation] |
*[http://www.ereader.com/product/book/excerpt/25045?book=unSpun:_Finding_Facts_in_a_World_of_Disinformation UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation] |
||
*[http://www.enotalone.com/article/11597.html Interview with Stanley that appeared in the ''Boston Transcript''] |
*[http://www.enotalone.com/article/11597.html Interview with Stanley that appeared in the ''Boston Transcript''] |
||
Revision as of 07:06, 13 July 2008
Clark Stanley (b. abt. 1854 in Abilene, Texas), the self-styled "Rattlesnake King," was known for popularizing snake oil as a patent medicine.
In 1879, after 11 years as a cowboy, Stanley studied for more than two years with a Moki medicine man at Walpi, Arizona. This included learning the secrets of snake oil. With the help of a Boston druggist he began marketing his product at Western medicine shows. In 1893 he and his rattlesnakes became a hit attraction at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. His act included the killing of rattlesnakes to begin the production of his medicine. Later he went on to establish production facilities in Beverly, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island.
In 1915, subsequent to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, Stanley's concoction was examined and found to be of no value (it was mostly mineral oil). For this he was fined $20.00.