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Above you can see the evolution from  1888—1936. In 1906 the Food & Drug Act was introduced in the U.S.A. (The Proprietary Medicine Act in Canada in 1909) in order to attempt to stop the selling of unregulated,  harmful “quack medicines.”  These pills contained ingredients like tansy root, pennyroyal, apiol, cotton root, and ergotin, all of which were supposed to treat “female problems” but in actuality were taken as a morning after abortion pill.  After 1906 they were no longer allowed to be sold as “Pennyroyal Pills” as they were shown to be harmful to women and this company (Chi-Ches-Ters) put little bars in place of the word “Pennyroyal” then put stars in place of it, then filled the space with the Food & Drug Act wording, then simply sold them as “Chi-Ches-Ters Pills.”   The  Pennyroyal tins above are  2 3/4” x 1 1/2” x  1”.
Pennyroyal & Female Pills

Still sealed like in the ad..

WEIRD!!! These went from the “Pennyroyal Pills” in the 1880’s or so (note the photo styles) to some sort of laxative around 1910-1920 judging from the photo. The new package looks very similar to the  old one and if it’s just a laxative why does it need to be prescribed by a physician??? And if it is just a laxative then why does it still have the ingredients as shown right? The two square cornered packages are cardboard but I thought this very interesting.
Text Box: “Professor” Dupree’s Pills with pennyroyal, tansy, etc. from around 1890 to simply “Dupree Pills” in 1923; suddenly no more “Professor.” These are both still sealed which I think is quite remarkable after so many years.

Four early Pennyroyal tins from 1890 to 1910; all four are highly collectible  but the NY&LD co. is the most rare. Note the tins to the right...they removed the term “French” along the way sometime after the Proprietary Medicine Act of 1906.

“In cases of menstrual disturbances the course of treatment may be commenced at any time when the indications suggest that the menstrual period is delayed due to taking cold or exposure...it is desirable while using the pills to bathe the feet in hot water, to which a little salt or mustard has been added. To produce free perspiration, the hot water treatment may be rendered more effective by drinking freely of hot lemonade or sweetened ginger tea as preferred. Outdoor exercise is equally necessary, being careful to be warmly clothed, keeping the feet dry and warm, avoiding sudden changes and chilling of the body.”

I bought this for $9.99 ...it had a big black mark on it but due to my superior intellect I was able to remove it to look like new (superior intellect? HE COLLECTS TINS!?)  It goes on to say...
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Here are three counter display tins with the little tins that came in them. I always wonder what we may be throwing in the trash these days that will be worth money someday (these big tins sell for around $100 each). They are all from 1880 to 1900, Paulette’s being the hardest to find, the other two come up quite often but most in pretty rough condition.

To the left  is a Chi-Ches-Ter’s tin from around 1888 (that’s over 120 years old) in very nice condition. It is a tin that held a dozen of the smaller tins (below) to display on a store counter.