Antislavery Activism in Lowell
Document 34

Document 34: “Ayer’s Cherry Pectoral” Advertisement, The Liberator, May 3, 1850

James Cook Ayer was a chemist and maker of patent medicines. In the 19th century, the term “patent medicine” was used to describe pre-packaged medicines sold over-the-counter without a doctor’s prescription. He was successful, and his Lowell factory became one of the largest of its kind in the world. Ayer’s wife, Josephine Southwick Ayer, was from a prominent Quaker family who support abolition. The Ayer family was committed to the antislavery movement as major financial supporters and purchased advertisements in the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, including the one below.

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