Preparing horehound confectionery. Photo: G. Evans.
Bah! Humbug!
> a 19th century London cough drop seller <
The white horehound (Marrubium vulgare) is an aromatic herb with a long association with certain respiratory complaints. The bitterness of its volatile oils lent the herb into being presented as a boiled sweet (hard candy).
It was grown in fields outside London in the 19th century to make an antidote to the effects of the city's dirty fog. However, when is a cough drop a piece of 'medical confectionery' and when just a herb-flavoured sweet?
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| Bah Humbug, white horehound |
Marrubium vulgare from Köhler’s 'Medizinal-Pflanzen', Gera-Untermhaus 1887.
Right-hand text image: 'A street doctor in the East-End of London selling cough drops to a Saturday night crowd.' 'The Sphere' March 1, 1902.
Left-hand text images: Cough preventative. 'Street Doctor', John Thomsom's 'Street Life in London', 1876.
Left-hand text images: Cough preventative. 'Street Doctor', John Thomsom's 'Street Life in London', 1876.