period chapstick

[blackpwdrhrdtack]

hey folks, i was wondering if anyone here knew of a period correct form of chapstick, im going to a tactical in the desert and i always get dry lips.

[ElizabethClark]

If you'll do a quick search of the forums, you'll find a few archived discussions on lip balms and their ilk.

[KathyBradford]

Nicholas,

It's very common to get dry lips at an event between sunburn, wind, cold, and possible moderate dehydration. A little lump of real beeswax, warmed slightly, makes a great lip balm. Keep it wrapped in a piece of cloth to protect it from sand and dirt.

[FranklinGuardsNYSM]

Where the heck did I once read an account of one's own earwax being used? Anyone else remember this?

I stick with the Petrolatum, though.

[Charles Heath]

"...one's own earwax being used?"

Didn't he comment on the bitter taste of earwax in that very same piece?

Charles Heath

[Trish Hasenmueller]

That would be on page 116 of The American Frugal Housewife by Mrs. Childs:
"EAR-WAX--Nothing is better than ear-wax to prevent the painful effects resulting from a wound by a nail, skewer, &c. It should be put on as soon as possible. Those who are troubled with cracked lips have found this remedy successful when others have failed. It is one of those sorts of cures, which are very likely to be laughed at; but I know of its having produced very beneficial results."

Yuck

Trish Hasenmueller

[Canebrake Rifle Guards]

Here's a bit on interesting history on chapstick I pulled from the web:

"Dr. C. D. Fleet, a physician from Lynchburg, Virginia, invented Chapstick or lip balm in the early 1880s. Fleet made the Chapstick himself that resembled a small wickless candle wrapped in tin foil.

Fleet sold his recipe to fellow Lynchburg resident John Morton in 1912 for five dollars after failing to sell enough of the product to make it worth his continued efforts. Morton along with his wife started production of the pink Chapstick in their kitchen. Mrs. Morton melted and mixed the ingredients and then used brass tubes to mold the sticks. The business was successful and the Morton Manufacturing Corporation was founded on the sales of Chapstick."

Actually his name is Charles Brown Fleet and as a young man he served in the Fredricksburg Artillery. In his post war writings he states that his unit opened up the cannonade preceeding Pickett's Charge, and that his unit was fired the last Confederate artillery shot at Appomattox at the end of the war.

One of his products that did succeed was enemas (lovely thought I know), you may have heard of "Fleet enemas", the company is located here in Lynchburg and has a strong business in pharmaceutical products.

When you pass by the pharmacy isle in your local grocery store and notice the various Fleet products, remember the young Confederate Fleet who served his gun throughout the Civil War.

Greg Starbuck

[ElizabethClark]

Another resouce that has quite a few period recipes for balms, salves, etc, is from Virginia Mescher, Powdered, Painted and Perfumed. It's well researched, though the standard "don't necessarily use historic remedies in the modern age" caveat applies.

You can get it direct from the publisher at http://www.vintagevolumes.com

Interesting stuff on the Fleet connection!

[Canebrake Rifle Guards]

By chance today I stumbled onto another Civil War connection with an everyday modern item. I quote,

Dr. Charles T. Pepper 1830-1903

Charles Pepper was born in Montgomery County, Virginia in 1830. He later earned a medical degree from the University of Virginia and served as a surgeon for the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the war, Pepper settled with his family in the town of Rural Retreat where he practiced medicine and opened Dr. Pepper's Drug Store. According to legend, it was there where he employed Wade Morrison, who would later become the co-founder of Dr. Pepper.

So the next time you have a Pepper, toast its Confederate namesake.

Greg Starbuck

[FranklinGuardsNYSM]

Likewise Coke, Pepsi, Vernor's (for our midwestern friends) and, my personal favorite, Moxie were all invented by Civil War veterans.