
Advertised around 1815 as a cure against distressing, persistent or even untreatable illnesses, “Medicated Elephants’ Milk” caught the eyes of many patients on the brink of giving up hope. It also caught the eye of Dr. Richard Reece (1775-1831), tireless author on domestic medicine, and member of the Royal College of surgeons – and it made him raise his eyebrows. Though the medicine enjoyed considerable success, and patients of high rank were cited to have benefited from “Elephants’ Milk”, it sounded like quackery to Dr. Reece. Thus he decided to have a closer look at it. Read more about a brazen fraud here.
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